„S5te\&I*uriat.  -ii,- 


m^smsi^smmm 


»0°V'o.Oo0c 

0    0 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 
DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 
^HiiARY  SOCIETIES 

SCHOOL        tJlLDOTO  uss  OiflBB 


JH 
Butterworth 


00002  15153  9 


^kj 


H 


u 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/zigzagjourneysonbutter 


ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


The  Zigzag  Series. 


HEZEKIAH     BUTTERWORTH. 

ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  IX  EUROPE 

ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS    IX   CLASSIC  I.AXDS. 

ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   IX    THE    OR  I  EXT. 

ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   IN   THE   OCCIDENT. 

ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  IN  NORTHERN  LANDS. 

ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS    IX  ACADIA. 

ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   IX    THE   LEVANT. 

ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  IX  THE  SUNNY  SOUTH. 

ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   IX  INDIA. 

ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  IX   THE   ANTIPODES. 

ZIGZAG  '  JOURNEYS  IX  THE  BRITISH 
ISLES. 

ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  IX  THE  GREA  T  NORTH- 
WEST 

ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   IX  AUSTRALIA 

ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI 

ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITER- 
RANEAN. 

ESTES    AND    LAURIAT,    Publishers, 

BOSTON.    MASS. 


THE    MEDITERRANEAN. 


Zigzag  Journeys 


•Jo  urHn  i 

MEDITERRANEAN. 


HEZEKIAH    BUTTERWORTH. 


FULLY    ILLUSTRATED. 


BOSTON: 

ESTES     AND     LAURIAT, 

PUBLISHERS. 


Copyright,  1S93, 
By    Estes    and    I.auriat. 

All  Rights  Reserved. 


3Entbcrsito  ^Srrss: 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge,  U.S  A. 


PREFACE. 


HE  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  explain  the  Consular 
Service  of  the  United  States,  and  to  relate  those 
curious  stories  which  are  often  told  in  the  Con- 
sulates of  the  East  and  which  resemble  the  "  Thou- 
sand and  One  Nights,"  or  the  "Arabian  Nights' 
Entertainments."  The  Consulates  of  the  East  sometimes  become 
famous  story-telling  places  in  which  caravan  tales,  sea  tales,  and 
travellers'  tales  are  told  in  an  original  way;  and  it  is  with  this 
peculiar  lore  that  this,  the  fifteenth  volume  of  the  "  Zigzag  Series," 
seeks  to  interest  the  reader.  Many  of  the  tales  of  Consulates  are 
geographically  and  historically  instructive,  and  some  of  them  have 
the  peculiar  flavor  of  old  Oriental  traditions.  The  pet  animals  and 
birds  of  Consulates  are  also  interesting  topics,  and  are  introduced  in 
these  Consular  museums. 

The  Zigzag  books  or  annuals,  like  many  magazines  with  a  definite 
educational  purpose,  make  use  of  interpolated  stories  to  illustrate  and 
to  give  interest  to  their  pages.  Most  of  these  stories  have  been 
written  by  the  author,  but  helps  from  other  pens  have  sometimes  been 
sought.  In  this  book  the  author  is  indebted  to  George  H.  Coomes,  of 
Warren,  R.  I.,  an  old  sailor,  and  a  popular  writer  of  sea  stories,  for  helps 


8  PREFACE. 

which  are  credited  in  their  places.     He  is  also  indebted  to   Messrs. 

Harper   Brothers  for  permission   to   reproduce   here  some  of  his  own 

stories,  using  the  illustrations  originally  made  for  them.     He  has  sought 

in  this,  as  in  former  volumes,  to  make  clear  a  useful  subject  by  that 

sympathetic   story-telling   art,   which,  although   a  melange,   leaves   the 

purpose   at   last   clear   in    the    mind.     Few   books   have   been  written 

to  make   our   diplomatic   and   consular   service    better   known    to   the 

young  people,  and  the  author  hopes  that  these  Tales  of  the  Consulates 

may  serve  this  purpose  of  popular  information. 

The  Oriental  stories  in  this  volume  are  selected  and  edited  out  of 

a  careful  study  of  books  on   Oriental  folk-lore,  it  being  the  author's 

purpose  to  give  to  young  people  those   which   most   interested   him. 

The  sources  of  these  stories  are  fully  credited,  so  that  the  lover  of 

Oriental    tales  can  follow  the   study,  if    he  have  access   to   the  best 

libraries. 

H.  B. 

28  Worcester  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  Page 

I.     A  Zigzag  Journey  to  Zag-a-Zig 13 

II.     How  Consuls  are  appointed.  —  Their  Duties.  —  The  Story- 
telling   Garden.  —  The    Capitol    by    Moonlight.  —  The 

Singing  Mouse.  —  The  Village  Mystery 26 

III.  A  Plan  for  a  Journey  of  Educational  Travel      ....  53 

IV.  Caracas    on    the    First    Day    of    the  Revolution,    1892.  — 

Amusements  at  Sea 79 

V.     Gibraltar 112 

VI.     Algeria.  —  Tunis. — The  Holiest  Place  in  Africa      .     .     .  130 

VII.     Marseilles  ....         146 

VIII.     Consular  Pets  and  Parrots 156 

IX.     Venice 165 

X.     Stories  and  Studies  while  detained  in  Quarantine        .     .  191 

XI.     The  Mediterranean  and  its  Legends 216 

XII.     St.  Sophia. — The  Dervish's  Fairy  Tale 232 

XIII.     Brindisi.  —  An  odd  Story-Teller 240 

XIV.     Rienzi,  the  Last  of  the  Roman  Tribunes 258 

XV.     Naples.  —  Roman  Fairy  Tales.  —  The  Story  of  Sordello  277 

XVI.     The  White-Bordered  Flag 30.S 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Mediterranean Frontispiece 

Pitti  Palace,  Florence 15 

On  the  Mediterranean 18 

•"Wait  till  the   Sun  goes  into  a  Cloud,' 

said  the  Doctor" -M 

Faneuil  Hall 44 

The  Valley  of  Mexico 51 

Popocatepetl 55 

The  God  of  Fire 57 

The  President's  Palace 58 

The  Sacrificial  Stone 59 

Top  of  Sacrificial  Stone 61 

Sculpture  on  the  Side  of  the  Sacrificial 

Stone 62 

The  Cathedral 63 

The  Tomb  of  Juarez 66 

Main  Plaza,  Monterey,  Bishop's  Palace  .  67 

Statue  of  Chitaahuac 69 

The  Plaza  and  La  Mitra,  Monterey    .  70 

Statue  of  Columbus,  Mexico      ....  75 

Bolivar So 

La  Guayra 81 

Statue  of  Bolivar,  Caracas S3 

A  youthful  Beggar  of  Caracas    ....  84 

Ancient  House  in  Caracas S5 

Grand  Opera  House,  Caracas    ....  87 

A  Donkey  Car,  Caracas SS 

Old  Mission  near  Caracas 107 

The  Rock  of  Gibraltar 113 

The  Grinding  over  young 117 

The  City  of  Morocco 123 

Nemours 127 

Travelling  in  Algeria 131 


Page 

An  Algerian  Antelope-Hunter         .     .  135 

An  Algerian  Beauty 141 

Tailpiece 145 

Public  Garden,  Marseilles 147 

"The  Old  Red  Settle  by  the  Fire"  .  .  15S 
"  The  Quaker  smiled  'neath  his   Sunday 

Hat" 15S 

"  Silas  the  Bass-viol  strung "      .                .  159 

"  The  Turnpike  Coach  " 160 

"  Take  that,  and  pay  Ben's  debts  "     .  163 

"  The  old  Man  powdered  his  Wig"    .     .  164 

The  Great  Bridge  of  Rialto       ....  166 

Pigeons  of  St.  Mark's 167 

Venetian  Glass 16S 

Foot  of  Flagstaff  in  front  of  St.  Mark's, 

Venice 169 

Masquerading  in  Venice 173 

Ca  D'Oro,  Venice 175 

Library  of  St.  Mark's,  Venice  ....  179 

A  Venetian  Garden ,.183 

Sciollo  and  Colleoni,  Venice      ....  1S7 

A  Vision  of  Egypt 193 

A  Camping-Place  in  Sight  of  Biskra  .     .  197 

A  Daughter  of  Egypt 201 

Florence 217 

The  Duomo,  Florence 221 

Loggia  di  Lanzi,  Florence    .           ...  225 

Fountain  of  Neptune,  Florence      .     .     .  229 

Turkish  Woman 233 

Interior  of  a  Mosque 235 

Moslem  at  Prayer 241 

Appian  Way 244 

Tomb  of  Cecilia  Mattella,  Appian  Way  249 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Baptistery.  Duomo,  and  Campanile 

of  Giotto,  Florence 253 

The  Campagna 25S 

The  Aventine 261 

St.  Paul  Basilica    ........  265 

Square  of  the  Capitol,  Rome     ....  269 

House  of  Cola  di  Rienzi 274 

Old  Entrance  t.o  National  Villa,  Naples  278 

Naples  and  Mount  Vesuvius      ....  279 

The  Aquarium,  Naples 282 


Page 

.Monument  of  Vico,  Naples 2S4 

Morning  in  Venice 293 

The  Tower  of  St.  Mark's 301 

t-"aPri 3°9 

National  Villa,  Naples 311 

Roman  Gate,  Genoa 31S 

Pilo  Gate,  Genoa 319 

South  Bastion,  Genoa 319 

Tailpiece 320 


ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS 


ON    THE 


MEDITERRANEAN. 


CHAPTER    I. 

A   ZIGZAG   JOURNEY   TO   ZAG-A-ZIG. 

"  C^^p^fftHE    days  of  the  caliphs    and    the    palaces    of    th 
^^tl^'TV*      caliphates    are    gone.     The    United    States    an 


^ri 


the   English   consular  offices  of  the  ports  of  the 
Mediterranean    are    the    interesting-    story-telling 


f^jv^r^gW-ifa  places  of  to-day.  How  I  have  enjoyed  the  hours 
spent  in  the  consular  offices  of  the  Southern  ports 
of  Europe!  It  was  once  my  good  fortune  to  visit  all  the  American 
and  English  consulates  on  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  and  of  the 
Red  Sea  to  the  ports  of  Mecca.  In  other  words,  I  made  a  journey 
under  Government  instructions  from  Washington  to  Zag-a-zig,  as  a 
town  near  Suez  was  called  :  a  Zigzag  journey  of  the  Mediterranean 
from  Cadiz  to  Zag-a-zig.  The  evenings  in  half  of  the  consulates  I 
visited  were  spent  in  story-telling,  and  I  collected  at  the  time  a 
library  of   English,  French,  and   Oriental   story-books." 

The  speaker  was  Captain  John  Van  der  Palm,  a  veteran  in  the 
consular  service  of  the  United  States.  The  place  was  the  picnic- 
grounds  of  the  old  Van  Ness  mansion  near  the  White  House  in 
Washington. 


14  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

John  Van  der   Palm  was  a  middle-aged   man,  a  widower,  with  an 

only  son,  named  Percy.  This  boy  had  accompanied  his  father  in 
several  journeys  to  consular  ports,  in  the  interest  of  the  State  Depart- 
ment. Mr.  Van  der  Palm  had  once  served  as  a  consul  in  several 
ports,  but  in  late  years  had  been  employed  as  a  general  agent  of  the 
State  Department  in  the  consular  service. 

Percy  Van  der  Palm  was  a  story-loving  boy.  He  early  developed 
a  lively  appreciation  of  sea  tales,  wonder  tales,  and  Oriental  imagina- 
tion. It  was  his  delight  to  accompany  his  father  to  the  social  rooms 
of  the  State  Department,  and  meet  there  old  foreign  ministers, 
consuls,  and  commercial  agents,  and  to  listen  to  their  narratives,  which 
often  had  all  the  interest  and  force  of  the  best  story-telling. 

The  Van  der  Palms  were  friends  of  the  occupants  of  the  old  Van 
Ness  mansion,  who  used  often  to  invite  their  friends  to  the  famous 
garden  of  the  house  to  spend  the  spring  and  summer  evenings. 
These  friends  were  usually  consuls  or  commercial  agents.  So  stories 
of  all  lands  came  to  be  told  here,  in  this  unconventional  way,  greatly 
to  the  delight  of  Percy.  He  himself  began  to  wish  to  travel,  and  he 
formed  a  plan  to  study  to  make  himself  an  acceptable  candidate  as  a 
consular  clerk. 

"  Well,  Percy,"  said  his  father  one  day,  "  what  profession  will  you 
choose  for  life?  Your  education  should  now  be  turned  into  some 
preparation  for  a  single  thing.  Life  is  too  short  for  many  things. 
The  age  demands  superior  fitness  for  one  thing  to  open  the  door  to 
one's  success.  Your  story-telling  davs  are  now  over.  The  time  for 
fables  has  passed." 

"No,  father;  my  story-telling  days  have  only  begun.  Let  me 
study  languages,  commercial  book-keeping,  and  commercial  law.  I 
intend  to  apply  to   the   President  for  a  place  as  consular  clerk." 

"  And  what  would  you  do  then  ?  " 

"  After  such  a  clerkship?  " 

"  Yes,  you  would  not  wish  to  be  a  consular  clerk  for  life  ?  " 


A    ZIGZAG  JOURNEY  TO  ZAG-A-ZIG.  I  7 

"  I  would  seek  to  become  a  secretary  of  legation,  a  diplomatic 
agent,  a  naval  attache,  or  a  consul,  such  as  you  have  been.  Let  me 
qualify  myself  for  some  place  in  the  service  of  the  Department  of 
State.  I  would  like  a  government  position  in  that  department  above 
all  things.  Such  people  are  in  touch  with  all  the  world.  They  study 
everything.  The  world  is  their  country,  and  their  countrymen  arc- 
all  mankind.  Their  minds  have  no  latitude  or  longitude  ;  they  take 
the  world  as  a  whole.  Their  very  forms  of  conversation  make  other 
men  seem  small.     Other  men  suppose  ;  they  know" 

"  Well,  my  son,  I  am  glad  that  you  take  such  a  philosophical  view 
of  the  State  service.  I  am  pleased  with  your  decision.  But  I  once 
heard  of  a  man  who  had  a  son  who  wished  to  see  the  world,  and —  " 

"  Well,  father  ?  " 

"  He  went  to  his  father  and  said,  '  Father,  I  want  to  travel  and  see 
the  world.'  " 

"  And  what  did  his  father  say  ?  " 

"  He  said,  '  My  son,  I  am  very  willing  that  you  should  travel  and 
see  the  world,  but  I  would  be  sorry  to  have  the  world  seejycw.' " 

"  Oh,  father,  you  do  not  mean  that !  " 

"  I  should  be  unwilling  that  you  should  seek  employment  in  the 
office  of  the  State  Department  without  a  long  and  a  thorough  prepara- 
tion. Our  diplomatic  service  in  the  past  has  often  not  been  a  credit 
to  our  country.  Politicians  have  been  given  places  that  should  have 
been  filled  only  by  trained  men.  Your  education  must  begin  now. 
It  must  be  first  in  languages,  then  in  mathematics,  then  in  law,  and  in 
general  knowledge  always." 

"  Where  shall  I  begin  in  languages  ?  " 

"Your  education  in  languages  must  begin  in  the  countries  where 
those  languages  are  spoken.  I  shall  send  you  to  the  city  of  Mexico 
to  study  Spanish,  and  then,  perhaps,  to  my  friends  in  Caracas.  I  shall 
then  send  you  for  a  year  to  the  ports  of  the  Mediterranean,  to  study 
French,    Italian,  and   the   eastern   tongues,  and   to  learn   commercial 


1 8  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

usages.  I  have  friends  in  nearly  all  those  ports.  I  may  be  able  to 
go  with  you  myself;  we  may  be  able  to  make  together  a  sort  of  a  Zig- 
zag journey  from  Washington  to  Port  Said,  or  Zag-a-Zig.  Should 
you  go  to  Caracas  to  study,  you  would  indeed  make  such  a  journey 
around  the  world  as  well  as  across  the  Mediterranean.  The  famous 
railway  up  the  Andes  from  La  Guayra  to  Caracas  is  called  the  Zig 
Zag.  I  will  think  over  your  plan.  Your  education  must  consist  largely 
in  educational  travel ;  this  is  the  highest  education,  and  will  become  a 


ON   THE    MEDITERRANEAN 


part  of  intellectual  training  of  the  future.  Let  us  go  down  to  the 
Garden.  I  have  been  promised  a  story  to-night  by  one  who  knows 
the  history  of  the  Van  Ness  house." 

"  The  ghost  story  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

The  two  passed  down  the  avenue  and  turned  into  the  monument 
grounds.  It  was  near  sunset,  and  the  western  trees  seemed  glimmer- 
ing with  golden  fruitage.  Light  airs  rippled  the  leaves.  The  day  had 
been  hot,  but  was  cooling. 

The  Garden  ? 

All  Washington  knows  of  that  strangely  beautiful  place.  How 
shall    I    describe    it  ?     I    cannot    better   do   so   than    in    the   story  of 


A   ZIGZAG  JOURNEY  TO  ZAG-A-Z/G.  19 

the  place  as  it  existed  in  former  years,  which  an  old  visitor  that 
night  related  to  the  Van  der  Palms  as  they  sat  under  the  trees  in 
the  mellow  air :  — 

THE   MYSTERY   OF   THE   MYSTERY.1 
AN    OLD    WASHINGTON    GHOST    STORY. 

ONE  keen  December  day,  a  few  years  after  the  war,  I  arrived  in  Washing- 
ton to  spend  a  few  weeks  with  a  friend  who  was  making  his  home  at  this  old 
Van  Ness  mansion,  near  the  White  House,  and  adjoining  the  grounds  where 
the  Washington  Monument  now  stands.  The  mansion  is  almost  a  ruin  now, 
and  its  beautiful  grounds  are  broken  and  faded,  but  it  was  in  its  glory  then,  with 
its  quaint  porticos,  its  halls  and  gardens  and  beautiful  trees. 

In  the  same  yard  with  the  fine  house,  which  had  been  associated  with  the 
best  social  life  of  many  administrations,  stood  the  so-called  Marcia  Burns's 
cottage,  in  which  Sir  Thomas  Moore  was  entertained  in  Jefferson's  days,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  unhappy  visit  to  Washington.  In  this  cottage  lived  Davie 
Burns,  the  stubborn  Scotchman,  whom  General  Washington  compelled  to  sell 
his  plantation  for  the  site  of  the  city. 

"  Your  position,"  said  Davie  Burns  to  Washington.  "  makes  you  feel  that 
all  is  grist  that  comes  into  your  hopper.  Who  would  you  have  been,  I  should 
like  to  know,  if  you  had  n't  'a'  married  the  Widow  Custis?  " 

I  had  loved  the  songs  of  Tom  Moore  in  my  boyhood.  My  mother  used  to 
sing  them.  The  "  Last  Rose  of  Summer,"  the  "Vale  of  Avoca,"  "The  Harp 
that  once  through  Tara's  Halls,"  came  ringing  back  in  memory;  and  after  an 
hour  with  my  friend  in  the  Van  Ness  hall,  I  went  out  into  the  yard,  and  sat 
down  on  one  of  the  benches,  and  looked  at  the  little  gray  cottage  where  the 
famous  author  of"  Lallah  Rookh  "  and  the  "Loves  of  the  Angels  "  had  been 
entertained  when  the  city  was   new. 

An  old  negress  came  sauntering  by.  With  my  Northern  freedom  I  said 
to  her,  — 

"  Auntie,  this  all  seems  to  me  a  place  of  mysteries  !  " 

"  A  place  of  mysteries,  dat  is  wot  it  is,  Massa  Nof,  —  dat  am  wot  it  is. 
Dat  am  de  suller  [cellar]  whar  dey  was  goin'  to  prison  Linkem  [Lincoln]  in  de 
las'  days  ob  de  war.  Wot  you  think  of  dat,  Massa  Nof?  De  'spirators  did  n't 
intend  on  killin'  him  at  first;   dey  had  planned  to  'duct  him.  an'  jus'  hide  him 

1   Originally  published  by  the  author  in  the  "  Household."    Used  by  permission. 


20  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

in  dat  dar  stiller.  An'  den  a  still  boat  was  to  come  ober  de  ribber,  like  de 
white  hosses,  wid  still  oars,  movin'  up  an'  down  so  still,  an'  dey  were  to  steal 
him  away,  an'  hold  him  for  a  ransom.  Dat  story  sort  o'  haunts  dat  suller  yet. 
It  nebber  happened,  but  de  ghost  of  it  all  am  dar  jus'  de  same. 

"  Dar  be  some  ghosts  dat  nebber  happened,  Massa  Nof.  De  white  hosses 
ain't  de  only  ghosts  that  come  round  here  o'  nights.  Marcia  Burns,  she  come 
on  summer  nights,  when  de  roses  all  hang  in  de  dews  in  de  thin  light  ob  de 
moon,  an'  de  mockin'  bird  am  singin'  his  las'  song. 

"  De  white  hosses,  dey  come  on  Christmas  nights, —  six  white  hosses  on 
seven  Christmas  nights,  Massa  Nof,  widout  any  heads  on  dem  an'  dar  necks 
all  smokin'.  It  may  be  you  11  stay  ober  Christmas  time,  Massa  Nof,  an'  see 
'em  wid  your  own  eyes." 

Of  what  was  this  old  negress  talking?  Her  eyes  dilated  as  she  spoke  of 
the  six  white  hosses,  and  she  raised  her  arm  and  looked  like  a  seeress. 

"What  are  the  six  white  horses?"  I  asked.  "I  never  heard  of  them 
before." 

"You  didn't!  Now  dat  am  strange!  I  must  call  you  Massa  Up-Nof. 
Eberybody  knows  about  'em  here.  Dey  am  ghosts,  —  jus'  ghosts.  Dey  are 
de  ghosts  ob  de  six  white  hosses  dat  all  dropped  right  down  dead  wid  broken 
hearts  on  de  night  dat  Marcia  Burns,  as  dey  call  Mrs.  Van  Ness,  gabe  up  her 
soul  to  de  angels.     Dat  am  wot  dey  am." 

My  friend  came  out  of  the  house.  The  old  negress  heard  the  door  close, 
and  gave  her  head  a  toss,  and  with  an  air  of  mystery  moved  away. 

"■  It  is  rather  cool  for  you  to  be  sitting  here,"  my  friend  said.  "  You  need 
your  overcoat.     We  have  kindled  the  fires." 

"  Dwight,"  said  I,  "  what  is  it  the  old  negress  has  been  telling  me  about  six 
white  horses?  —  one  of  the  oddest  things  I  ever  heard." 

"Oh,  nonsense,  Herbert.  An  old  Christmas  tale;  the  negroes  believe  it 
yet.  lam  going  to  the  station;  will  be  back  soon.  You  had  better  go  in. 
There's  a  chill  in  the  air." 

He  passed  out  of  the  gate. 

I  did  not  go  in.  The  ancient  place  seemed  to  throw  over  me  a  spell. 
I  had  heard  that  the  early  Presidents  used  to  be  entertained  here;  that 
Marcia  Burns  Van  Ness  was  a  kind  of  Washington  saint;  that  she  founded 
tire  orphan  asylum,  and  that  the  government  stopped  on  the  day  that  she 
was  buried. 

"The  government  stopped,"  I  said  to  myself,  absently,  "but  did  the  six 
white  horses  really  fall  down  dead?" 

"  Dat  dey  did." 


A   ZIGZAG  JOURNEY   TO  ZAG-A-ZIG.  2  1 

The  words  seemed  to  come  out  of  the  air.  I  looked  up,  and  the  old  negress 
again  stood  before  me.     She  was  on  her  way  to  some  place  outside  the  gate. 

"  An'  Massa  Up-Nof,  jus'  you  let  me  tell  you  somethin'  :  De  white  hosses 
am  a  mystery,  but  dar  am  a  mystery  ob  de  mystery.  I  '11  tell  you  some  day,  I 
will." 

She  passed  out  of  the  gate.  The  sun  was  setting;  the  last  breeze  seemed 
to  die,  and  I  sat  in  the  silence  trying  to  picture  to  myself  the  past  of  this  most 
wonderful  place. 

Dwight  refused  to  talk  to  me  about  the  six  white  horses.  I  went  to  For- 
tress Monroe  to  spend  a  week  or  two,  and  while  there  I  wrote  to  a  lady  in 
Georgetown,  who  well  knew  the  history  of  the  Van  Ness  place,  and  asked  her 
about  the  legend  of  the  six  white  horses.  The  return  letter  intensely  interested 
me.     It  was  as  follows  :  — 

Georgetown,  December  20. 

Dear  Herbert,  —  Scrapbooks,  old  notes,  a  few  letters  from  friends  living  near  Seven- 
teenth Street  in  Washington,  bring  to  me  about  the  same  data  you  seem  to  possess. 

The  '"headless  horses"  number  "six"  because  General  Van  Ness  drove  to  his  best 
coach  six,  when  guests  were  many  and  distinguished.  He  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six. 
He  married  the  beautiful  Marcia  Burns  when  he  was  thirty  ;  he  was  then  a  New  York 
member  of  Congress.  During  all  those  years  he  gave  annually  a  large,  gay,  fashionable 
entertainment  to  all  of  Congress,  during  the  holidays.  They  were  the  Christmas  events 
of  society. 

On  the  anniversary  of  that  event,  the  six  headless  horses  are  said  to  appear  "  to  this 
day  "  !  They  are  seen  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  any  or  all  nights  during  Christmas  week. 
(You  know,  in  the  South,  the  Christmas  revelry  lasts  all  the  week.)  An  old  lady  of  eighty 
tells  me,  "  The  horses  do  gallop  round  and  round  the  mansion  in  Mansion  Square,  and 
sometimes  stop  right  in  front  of  the  old  pillars  of  the  porch  and  rock  to  and  fro  and  moan 
and  sigh.  They  are  white  as  snow,  with  smoke  and  mist  and  white  flame,  like  burning 
brandy,  going  upward  from  their  shoulders." 

They  stop  in  their  midnight  gallops  and  listen  at  the  door  for  the  old  voices  of  George 
Washington,  Hamilton,  Clay,  Jefferson,  the  Taylors,  and  hundreds  of  distinguished  men  of 
that  time.  They  come  over  the  river,  as  most  of  the  men  are  buried  there.  The  unseen 
spirits  of  the  great  dead  hover  about  the  grounds,  and  make  the  aspen  trees  shiver,  the 
willows  moan,  as  the  horses  dash  past. 

Old  Mr.  Van  Ness  comes  with  his  own  horses,  and  it  is  his  spirit  appearing  in  them. 

Tom  Moore  spent  one  week  there,  and  comes  generally  at  Christmas  time,  his  voice 
repeating  verses  composed  for  the  beautiful  Marcia  Van  Ness,  and  as  repeated  at  one 
entertainment  to  her,  is  still  heard  as  the  clock  strikes  twelve. 

One  old  man  says,  "  Dey  los'  dere  heads  [the  horses]  when  ole  massa  was  put  in  de 
big,  gran'  mos-lem  !  "     (The  mausoleum  now  stands  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery.     We   see  it 


2  2  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

often.)  "  An'  dey  lay  in  de  dus' ;  an'  when  dey  was  seen  nex'  day,  smoke  was  dere  heads, 
like  onto  de  day  ob  jedgment." 

Another  theory  says  :  "  The  six  beautiful,  fiery  horses  died  of  grief,  and  were  buried  on 
the  place.  A  rise  in  the  Potomac  River  washed  them  far  away.  The  next  Christmas  they 
returned  "  like  death  on  the  pale  horse,"  in  bodily  form,  with  cloudy  heads,  and  the 
general's  eyes  flashing  through  the  smoke  and  flames.  Sometimes  the  very  faces  of  the 
guests  appeared  plainly." 

Montgomery  Blair  used  to  say  that  the  six  headless  horses  did  appear  to  the  servants 
annually,  and  that  his  own  slaves  had  repeated  to  him  their  stories  "  until  he  himself 
believed  them." 

The  lonely  Taylor  family  of  "  The  Octagon  House,"  whose  collection  of  curios  are  now 
in  the  Corcoran  building,  told  funny  stories  of  the  "ghosts,"  credited  up  to  the  eighties: 

"  Six  headless  horses  gallop  round  the  old  house  and  grounds  annually ;  always  white 
and  large,  and  with  heads  of  fire.  The  servants  run,  and  more  courageous,  intelligent 
persons  spend  the  night  trying  to  hold  the  horses.  They  fly  past  them,  and  dissolve  before 
their  eyes  !  A  noise  of  rushing  wind  and  voices  in  the  distance,  a  splash  in  the  water, 
and  all  is  still." 

One  note  of  1885  says  :  "  The  headless  horses  are,  of  course,  a  myth,  but  few  of  the 
neighbors  care  to  pass  a  night  in  the  place,  near  Christmas  time.  We  have  hidden  behind 
the  brick  wall,  but  found  it  a  ghostly  spot."  1 

The  story  had  grown  with  the  letter,  and  my  imagination  grew.  The  inci- 
dents of  the  smoking  necks  of  the  horses,  of  Tom  Moore's  songs  at  Christmas 
at  the  midnight  hour,  of  the  terrified  servants,  and  the  dissolving  spectres,  all 
fixed  themselves  on  my  mind,  and  haunted  my  sleeping  and  waking  dreams. 
On  the  24th  of  December  I  returned  to  Washington,  to  pass  the  holidays  with 
my  friends  at  the  old  Van  Ness  house. 

As  I  passed  the  gate  into  the  great  garden,  I  met  the  old  negress  again. 

"  De  land!  am  you  come  back?  Don'  you  be  frightened  now;  you  listen 
right  now  to  wot  you'  Auntie  Wisdom  's  gwine  to  say.  Dar  am  a  mystery  ob 
de  mystery.     I  'se  found  it  out,  I  dun  has. 

"  Dem  beliebs  dat  dar  are  witches. 
Dar  de  witches  are ; 
Dos  dat  tink  dar  ain't  no  witches, 
Dar  ain't  no  witches  dar. 

Now,  Massa  Up-Nof,  don'  you  be  'fraid.  I  '11  tell  you  somethin'  befo'  you 
go.     Dar 's    got    to    be    a    mental   mind    to    see    dem  tings ;    de    'maginations 

1  These  are  extracts  from  a  real  letter,  for  nearly  every  incident  of  this  strange  story  is  true.  I 
have  used  only  a  slight  framework  of  fiction,  and  that  framework  does  not  include  any  essential  historical 
event. 


A   ZIGZAG   JOURNEY   TO  ZAG-A-ZIG.  23 

got  to  hab  eyes ;  you  'member  now  wot  yo'  Auntie  Wisdom  says,  an'  don' 
you  get  scared  at  anyting  dey  tells  you.  Dar  '11  be  libely  times  about  mid- 
night. Glad  to  see  ye.  But  I  mus'  hurry  on ;  wot  Massa  Blair,  he  say,  if  he 
heard  me  talkin'  dis  way  wid  a  gent'man  from  up  Nof !  No  account  nigger 
like  me.    But  I  'se  yer  true  frien',  I  'se  am  !     I  likes  peoples  wot  live  up  Nof!  " 

It  was  a  beautiful  night.  The  Capitol  seemed  to  stand  in  the  air  like  a 
mountain  of  marble,  and  when  the  moon  rose  and  illumined  the  grand  porticos 
of  the  nation's  halls,  the  air,  as  it  were,  became  enchanted,  as  if  it  held  a  celes- 
tial palace  of  light.  The  Capitol  by  moonlight  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
scenes  on  earth.  It  rivals  the  visions  of  the  Taj,  and  impresses  the  imagination 
as  the  very  genius  of  American  destiny. 

There  was  a  gay  party  in  the  old  house  on  that  Christmas  eve.  Amid  the 
social  entertainments  I  once  or  twice  heard  an  allusion  to  the  "six  white 
horses,"  as  though  the  legend  were  merely  a  joke.  The  guests  departed  by 
eleven  o'clock,  and  a  half  hour  later  I  found  myself  in  the  guest-chamber,  look- 
ing out  of  the  window  on  Marcia  Burns's  cottage,  the  evergreens,  and  the 
Potomac.  The  house  became  still,  but  sounds  of  merriment  from  time  to  time 
broke  on  the  air  from  the  negro  quarters.  I  wondered  where  Auntie  Wisdom 
might  be,  and,  but  for  the  impropriety,  I  would  have  been  glad  to  talk  with  her 
as  the  critical  hour  of  twelve  drew  nigh. 

Tom  Moore  probably  wrote  the  once  famous  song,  "  The  Lake  of  the 
Dismal  Swamp"  here,  on  returning  from  Norfolk,  or  here  formed  it  in  his 
mind.  As  I  sat  by  the  window,  gazing  across  the  Potomac,  under  the  high 
moon,  I  could  almost  hear  my  old  mother  singing  that  song  again:  — 

"  They  made  her  a  grave  too  cold  and  damp 
For  a  heart  so  warm  and  true  ; 
And  she's  gone  to  the  Lake  of  the  Dismal  Swamp, 
Where  all  night  long  by  her  fire-fly  lamp. 
She  paddles  her  white  canoe. 


•  Away  to  the  Dismal  Swamp  he  speeds, 

And  his  path  is  rugged  and  sore; 
Through  tangled  juniper,  beds  of  reeds. 
Through  many  a  fen  where  the  serpent  feeds, 
And  man  never  trod  before. 

'  And  near  him  the  she-wolf  stirs  the  brake, 

And  the  copper  snake  breathes  in  his  ear, 
Till  he  starting  cries  —  "' 


24  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

A  shriek  rent  the  air  at  this  point  of  my  mental  recitation.  It  came  from 
the  negro  quarters.  The  yard  was  soon  filled  with  colored  servants,  and  among 
them  was  Aunt  Chloe,  the  woman  of  wisdom. 

"  Comin',  comin',  comin'  on  de  wings  ob  de  wind  !  "  the  old  negress  began 
to  exclaim  in  a  wild,  high,  gypsyish  tone,  bowing  backwards  and  forwards  and 
waving  her  hands  in  a  circle.  The  negroes  around  her  seemed  beside  them- 
selves with  terror. 

What  was  coming? 

I  looked  out  on  the  Potomac  over  the  motionless  trees.  On  the  margin  of 
the  river  was  rising  a  thin  white  mist,  which  formed  itself  into  fantastic  shapes 
as  it  rolled  along  and  broke  over  the  marshes  in  the  viewless  currents  of  the  air. 
One  of  these  mist  forms  began  to  condense,  and  drift  toward  the  gardens  of 
the  house. 

"Comin',  comin',  on  de  winds!  The  Revelations  am  comin',  an'  wot 's 
gvvine  to  sabe  us  now?  " 

I  opened  the  window.  The  clocks  were  striking  twelve  in  the  church 
towers. 

"The  Powers  above,  sabe  us!"  shrieked  Aunt  Chloe.  "Fall  upon  yo' 
knees.     The  dead  are  upon  ye  all.     You  that  has  bref,  rend  de  skies !  " 

"  Jerusalem  and  Jericho  !  "  cried  a  negro  who  was  called  Deacon  Ned.  He 
seemed  to  think  that  in  the  union  of  these  two  words  was  prophylactic  virtue, 
and  repeated  them  over  and  over  again.  Then  a  cry  went  up,  which  might 
have  reached  the  skies,  had  the  celestial  scenery  been  as  near  as  it  appeared 
on  that  still  December  morning.  Deacon  Ned  followed  the  piercing  cry  with 
the  startling  declaration:  — 

"  De  yarth  am  comin'  up  an'  de  hebens  am  comin'  down !  " 

With  this  thrilling  announcement  in  my  ears,  I  left  my  room,  and  went 
down  into  the  hall,  and  out  into  the  air.  A  Christmas  carol  from  the  chimes  of 
some  unknown  tower  was  floating  through  the  sky  like  an  angel's  song. 

Aunt  Chloe,  the  woman  of  occult  wisdom,  rose  up  when  she  saw  me. 

"  Oh,  Massa  Up-Nof,  dey  is  comin' !     Wot  you  say  now?  " 

"Where?  " 

"  Dere — don'  ye  see  'em?  Clar  as  de  mornin' !  Hain't  ye  got  de  clar 
vision?  " 

She  pointed  wildly  to  one  of  the  forms  of  the  night  mist,  and  stood  with 
one  arm  raised  and  white-orbed  eyes. 

"  Don'  ye  see  dat  white  hoss  dar,  widout  any  head,  an'  smokin'?  An'  don' 
ye  see  dem  five  white  hosses  dat  am  bein'  created  behind  him?  " 

Then  she  pointed  again  toward  the  marshes,  and  I  saw  them. 


A   ZIGZAG   JOURNEY  TO  ZAG-A-ZIG.  25 

There,  as  plainly  as  I  ever  saw  anything,  was  a  white  horse  without  a  head, 
his  neck  smoking.  Behind  him  were  five  other  white  horses  rising  from  the 
marshes. 

"  You  see,  now  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  You  hab  de  clar  vision?     Wot  did  I  tell  ye  !  " 

"  I  see." 

"  You  can't  discern  dese  tings  widout  de  seein'  eye.  Wot  did  I  tell 
ye  !  " 

The  forms  rolled  over  the  marshes,  and  through  the  outward  shrubbery  of 
the  gardens,  and  disappeared,  dissolving  as  they  approached  the  higher  part 
of  the  city.     The  negroes  stood  like  statues. 

"  It  has  passed  by,"  said  Deacon  Ned.     "  Bress  de  Laud  !  " 

"  Aunt  Chloe,"  said  I,  "  you  said  there  was  a  mystery  of  the  mystery.  What 
is  it?     i  must  know." 

She  heaved  a  deep  sigh,  but  as  of  relief,  and  then  said,  slowly,  "  Massa 
Up-Nof,  nobody  sees  'em  as  hoss.es  until  dey  are  told  dat  dey  be  horses.  Den 
dey  hab  de  seein'  eye.     Do  ye  see?  " 

"  I  see."     I  did,  indeed. 

"  Dey  was  hosses,  warn't  dey  now,  Massa  Up-Nof? " 

"  Yes,  Aunt  Chloe,  I  saw  them  as  plainly  as  I  saw  the  President's  horses  on 
Inauguration  Day." 

The  negroes  disappeared  in  the  shadows. 

I  slept  serenely,  and  when  I  awoke,  all  the  Christmas  bells  were  ringing. 
There  was  a  mystery  of  the  mystery,  and  that  key  will  unlock  many  doors. 

But  I  shall  never  forget  the  impressions  made  upon  my  mind  that  night  at 
the  old  Van  Ness  house;  and  wherever  Christmas  may  find  me,  that  haunting 
memory  will  always  return  again.  No  American  Christmas  story  ever  made 
such  a  vivid  impression  upon  me,  or  left  in  my  mind  so  many  suggestive 
lessons.     And  the  story  is  substantially  true. 


CHAPTER    II. 


HOW   CONSULS  ARE  APPOINTED. —THEIR    DUTIES. -THE   STORY- 
TELLING  GARDEN.  — THE    CAPITOL    BY   MOONLIGHT  — 
THE   SINGING   MOUSE. —THE    YILLAGE    MYSTERY. 

YOUNG  mind  with  an  inborn  purpose  is  haunted 
by  ideals.  Dreams  of  life  which  shall  be  realities 
float  before  it.  Percy  Van  der  Palm  loved  to  loiter 
about  the  old  Washington  garden,  and  read  books 
that  related  to  the  duties  and  opportunities  of  the 
foreign  offices  of  the  Department  of  State.  The 
"  Register "  of  the  State  Department  is  a  very 
simple  document,  but  he  was  often  found  reading  it,  and  making  the 
catalogue  a  wonder-book  by  associating  with  some  name  in  it  a 
mental  picture.  For  example,  one  would  usually  find  pages  like  that 
on  our  next  page  of  little  interest.  Some  (like  that  on  page  28) 
relate  to  the  consulates  of  Spain  and  Italy,  to  which  Percy's  dreams 
somehow  seemed  to  be  tending  after  what  his  father  had  said. 

But  however  dry  such  pages  of  official  history  may  seem  to  our 
readers,  they  were  leaves  of  story  books  to  Percy,  as  we  have  said ; 
they  were  titles  of  fictions  which  were  founded,  like  old  novels,  on 
facts,  which  his  interpretative  fancy  filled. 

There  was  another  book  issued  by  the  Department  of  State  which 
his  imagination  used  in  a  like  way.  It  was  entitled  "  United  States 
Consular  Regulations."  It  was  a  large  book  for  a  record,  handsomely 
bound. 

Many  afternoons  found  him  in  the  old  haunted  Garden,  studying 
in  this  book  facts  that  he  hoped  might  have  a  bearing  on  his  future. 


HOW  COXSULS  ARE  APPOINTED. 


27 


REGISTER    OF    EXISTING    OFFICERS,  EMPLOYES,    ETC. 


OFFICERS    AND    CLERKS    OF   THE    DEPARTMENT    OF    STATE. 


Offices,  salaries,  and  names. 


Where     '    Whence 
born.       I  appointed. 


Service  in  the  Department. 


Secretary  of  State  (SS.ooo) 

John  W.  Foster Ind. 

Assistant  Secretary  of  State 

IS4.500). 

William  F.  Wharton    ....    Mass. 

Second  Assistant  Secretary  of 

State  (§3,500). 

Alvey  A.  Adee N.  Y. 


Third  Assistant  Secretary  of 
Stale  ($3,500). 
William  M.  Grinnell     .     .     . 
Solicitor  ($3,500). 

Frank  C.  Partridge 

Chief  Clerk  ($2,750). 
Sevellon  A.  Brown 


Chief  of  the  Diplomatic 

($2,100). 
Thomas  W.  Cridler 


Chief  of  the  Consular  Bureau 
($2,100). 
Francis  O.  St.  Clair      .     .     . 


Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Indexes 

and  Archives  ($2,100). 
John  H.  Haswell 


Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Accounts 

($2,100). 

Francis  J.  Kieckhoefer     .     .     .    D.  C. 


Ind.       .     .    Commissioned  June  29,  1S92. 
Mass.   .     .    Commissioned  April  2,  18S9. 


D.  C. 


Appointed  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Madrid 
September  9,  1S70;  Charge  J' Affaires  at  dif- 
ferent times;  transferred  from  Madrid  and 
appointed  clerk  class  four  July  9,  1S77  \  aP' 
pointed  Chief  of  Diplomatic  Bureau  June  1 1, 
1S7S;  commissioned  Third  Assistant  Secre- 
tary July  iS,  18S2 ;  commissioned  Second 
Assistant  Secretary  August  3,  1SS6. 

Commissioned  February  11,  1S92. 
Commissioned  June  10,  1S90. 


Appointed  temporary  clerk  December  21, 1864  ; 
clerk  class  one  July  1,  1S66;  class  two  Octo- 
ber 16,  1866;  class  four  June  1,  1S70;  Chief 
of  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives  July  1, 
1S73;  member  of  Board  of  Civil  Service  Ex- 
aminers for  Department  of  State  August  7, 
1873;  Chief  Clerk  August  7,  1873;  resigned 
to  take  effect  February  1,  lSSS;  reappointed 
Chief  Clerk  February  11,  1S90. 

Appointed  clerk  of  $900  class  October  1,  1S75  ; 
class  one  July  1,  1S80;  class  three  November 
I,  188 1  ;  class  four  February  1,  1884;  Chief 
of  the  Diplomatic  Bureau  July,  15,  1SS9. 

Appointed  temporary  clerk  November  12. 1S65; 
class  two  June  7,  1S70;  class  three  June  22, 
187 1  ;  class  four  July  I,  1S74;  temporary 
Chief  of  the  Consular  Bureau  June  7,  18S1 ; 
permanent  Chief  of  the  Consular  Bureau 
November  1,  iSSr. 


Appointed  temporary  clerk  January  23,  1S65; 
class  one  August  1.  1S67  ;  class  two  March 
22,  1S69;  class  three  June  1,  1S70;  class 
four  June  22,  1S71 ;  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
Indexes  and  Archives  August  7,  1S73. 

Appointed  temporary  clerk  August  1,  1S74; 
class  one  December  1,  1S74 ;  class  three 
November  20,  1S77  ;  class  two  July  1,  1S7S; 
class  three  Feburary  27, 18S0;  class  four  July 
1.  1SS0:  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Accounts  and 
Disbursing  Clerk  January  2S,  1SS4 


28 


ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 


UNITED    STATES    CONSULAR    SERVICE. 


Name  and  Title 


Castellammare 

Do 
Catania  . 
Do 
Florence 
Do 
Bologna 
Genoa    . 
Do 
San  Rem, 
Leghorn 
Do 
Carrara 
Messina  . 
Do 
Gioja    . 
Milazzo 
Milan 

Do 
Naples    . 
Do 
Do 
Ban    . 
Rod!    . 
Palermo 
Do 
Girgenii 
Licata 
Marsala 
Trapani 
Rome 

Do 

Do 

Ancona 

Caghari 

Civita  Vecchia 

Turin  (b) 

Do 

Venice  (b) 

Do 


Alfred  M.  Wood      . 
Nestore  Calvano 
Carl  Bailey  Hurst  * 
Augustus  Peratoner, 
James  Verner  Long 
Spirito  Bernard! 
Carlo  Gardini 
James  Fletcher  (« 
Frederico  Scerni 
Albert  Ameglio     . 
Radcliffe  H.  Ford 
Emilio  Masi    .     . 
Uhsse  Boccacci     . 
Darley  R.  Brush 


ham  . 


.  C. 
V.  c. 
D.C. 

Agt. 

Agt. 
.  C 
V.C. 


L.  Giffoiii Agt. 

Pletro  Siracusa    ....       Agt. 

George  W.  Pepper  (//)     .     .     C. 

Anthonv  Richman 

John  S.  Twells    . 

Rob't  O'N.  Wicken 

Philip  S.  Twells  . 

Nicholas  Schitck  . 

T.  del  Giudice      . 

Horace  C.  Pugh 

Carmelo  G.  Lagana 

Francis  Ciotta 

Arthur  Verderame 

George  Rayson 

Ignazio  Marrone 

Augustus  O.  Bourn 

Charles  M.  Wood    V 

Charles  M.  Wood    . 

A.  P.  Tomassini  .     . 

Alphonse  Dol  .     .     . 

G.  Marsanuh       .     . 

St.  Leger  A.  Touhay  ( 

Hugo  Pizzotti 

Henry  A.  Johnson  .     .     .     .     C. 

Frederick  Rechsteiner,  V.&D.C. 


V. 
V.& 
V.& 


C.  A. 

C.A. 


.     C. 
D.C. 


Germany 


.  C. 
D.C. 
Agt. 
.  C. 
V.C. 


Pa. 


Agt. 


Agt. 


&D. 


«) 


Agt. 

Agt. 

Agt. 

Agt. 
C.  G. 
C.G. 
C.  C. 

Agt. 

Agt. 

Agt. 
C.A. 
C.A. 


D.C. 
D.C. 


July  13. 

Sept.  30, 

July  22, 

Nov.  22, 

Feb.  27, 

Mar.  3, 

June  2, 

May  14, 

Dec.  10, 

Nov.  27, 

Jan.  6, 

Oct.  14, 

I  une  10, 

July  22, 


Aug. 
Mar. 
Jan. 
Mar. 
Feb. 
Nov. 
July 
Feb. 
Mar. 
Oct. 
Dec. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Dec 
Oct. 
June 
Feb. 
Mar. 
Mar. 
June 
June 
Jan. 
Apr. 
Mar. 
June 


6, 


878  I  §1,500 

891 

892 

883 

891 

8S3 

88 1 

883 

883 

883 

892 

889 

882 


,500 


74-5° 
'35° 
S300 

35°-S° 


S67.00 


HOW   CONSULS  ARE  APPOINTED.  29 

Let  me  give  a  few  of  them  ;  they  will  show  how  our  foreign  service  is 
conducted,  and  will  serve  as  pictures  of  the  beginnings  of  diplomatic 
and  consular  life. 

CLASSES   OF    CONSULAR   OFFICERS:    THEIR   POWERS   AND 

DUTIES. 

The  Consular  Service  of  the  United  States  consists  of  agents  and  consuls- 
general,  vice-consuls-general,  deputy  consuls-general ;  consuls,  vice-consuls, 
deputy  consuls ;  commercial  agents,  vice-commercial  agents,  deputy  commercial 
agents ;  consular  agents,  consular  clerks,  interpreters,  marshals,  and  clerks  at 
consulates. 

Consuls  are  of  two  classes:  (1)  Those  who  are  not  allowed  to  engage  in 
business,  and  whose  salaries  exceed  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum  ;  (2)  Those 
who  ave  allowed  to  engage  in  business.  The  latter  class  of  consuls  is  again  sub- 
divided into — ( 1)  Those  who  are  salaried  (known  as  consuls  in  Schedule  C),  and, 
(2)  Those  who  are  compensated  from  the  fees  which  they  receive  for  their  services. 

These  clerks,  to  the  number  of  thirteen  in  all,  are  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent after  examination,  and  can  be  removed  only  for  cause  stated  in  writing 
and  submitted  to  Congress  at  the  session  first  following  such  removal.  Appli- 
cants must  be  over  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States  at 
the  time  of  their  appointment,  and  must  pass  examination  before  an  examining 
board,  who  shall  report  to  the  Secretary  of  State  that  the  applicant  is  qualified 
and  fit  for  the  duties  of  the  office.  They  may  be  assigned  to  different  consul- 
ates at  the  pleasure  of  the  Secretary  of  State;  and,  when  so  assigned,  they  are 
subordinate  to  the  principal  consular  officer,  or  the  vice  or  deputy  at  the  post, 
as  the  case  may  be. 

If  the  applicant  for  the  office  of  consular  clerk  is  in  a  foreign  country,  he 
may  be  examined  by  a  series  of  written  questions  by  the  Minister  of  the  United 
States  in  that  country,  and  two  other  competent  persons  to  be  named  by  him. 
The  result  of  the  examination,  with  the  answers  of  the  candidate  in  his  own 
handwriting,  will  then  be  transmitted  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  Consular 
clerks  are  required  to  discharge  such  clerical  and  other  duties  of  the  consul- 
ate as  may  be  assigned  to  them  by  the  principal  officer,  whose  instructions  in 
all  respects  they  are  carefully  to  observe  and  obey.  Punctual  daily  attendance 
at  the  consulate  during  office  hours,  diligence  in  the  discharge  of  the  consular 
duties,  a  cheerful  obedience  to  the  directions  of  their  superiors,  a  courteous 
bearing  toward  all  persons  having  business  with  the  consulate,  and  uprightness 


30  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

of  conduct  in  all  respects  will  be  expected  from  them.  Disobedience,  want  of 
punctuality,  neglect  of  duty,  the  abuse  of  their  credit  in  pecuniary  transac- 
tions, or  exceptionable  moral  conduct-  will  be  followed  by  the  revocation  of 
their  commissions. 

The  department  is  authorized  by  law  to  allow  for  the  hire  of  clerks,  when 
the  money  is  actually  expended  therefor,  as  follows:  To  the  consul  at 
Liverpool,  a  sum  not  exceeding  the  rate  of  two  thousand  dollars  for  any  one 
year;  and  to  the  consuls-general  at  London,  Paris,  Havana,  and  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  each  a  sum  not  exceeding  the  rate  of  one  thousand  six  hundred  dollars 
for  any  one  year;  to  the  consuls-general  at  Berlin,  Frankfort,  Montreal, 
Shanghai,  Vienna,  and  Kanagawa,  and  for  the  consuls  at  Hamburg,  Bremen, 
Manchester,  Lyons,  Hong-Kong,  Havre,  Crefeld,  and  Chemnitz,  each  a  sum 
not  exceeding  the  rate  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  dollars  for  any  one  year; 
and  the  consuls  at  Bradford,  Marseilles,  and  Birmingham,  each  a  sum  not 
exceeding  the  rate  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  for  any  one  year ;  to 
the  consuls-general  at  Calcutta,  Port  au  Prince,  and  Melbourne,  and  to  the 
consuls  at  Leipsic,  Sheffield,  Sonneberg,  Dresden,  Nuremberg,  Tunstall,  Ant- 
werp, Bordeaux,  Colon  (Aspinwall),  Glasgow,  Panama,  and  Singapore,  each 
a  sum  not  exceeding  the  rate  of  eight  hundred  dollars  for  any  one  year  ;  to 
the  consuls  at  Belfast,  Barmen,  Leith,  Dundee,  Victoria,  and  to  the  consuls- 
general  at  Matamoros  and  Halifax,  each  a  sum  not  exceeding  the  rate  of 
six  hundred  and  forty  dollars  for  any  one  year ;  to  the  consuls-general  at 
Mexico  and  Berne  and  to  the  consuls  at  Beirut,  Malaga,  Genoa,  Naples, 
Stuttgart,  Florence,  Manheim,  Prague,  Zurich,  and  Demerara,  each  a  sum  not 
exceeding  the  rate  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  for  any  one  year.  The 
allowance  to  be  made  from  this  appropriation  to  the  several  consulates  named 
being  within  the  discretion  of  the  Department  of  State,  the  amount  of  the 
allowance  will  be  determined  by  the  requirements  of  each  office.  No  clerk- 
will  be  employed  without  special  instructions  authorizing  it,  and  the  name 
and  nationality,  as  well  as  the  proposed  amount  of  compensation  of  each  clerk, 
will  be  reported  to  the  department. 

APPOINTMENT    AND    QUALIFICATION    OF    CONSULAR 
OFFICERS. 

Consuls-general  and  consuls  are  appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  They  qualify  by  taking  the  prescribed 
oath  (a  copy  of  which  is  furnished  by  the  department  for  the  purpose),  and 
by  executing  a  bond  to  the  United  States  in  the  form  prescribed  by  the 
department. 


HOW  CONSULS  ARE   APPOINTED.  3  I 

Consuls-general  and  all  consuls  and  commercial  agents  whose  salaries 
exceed  one  thousand  dollars  a  year  are  required,  before  receiving  a  commis- 
sion, to  execute  a  bond  (Form  No.  2)  containing  an  express  stipulation 
against  engaging  in  business  Those  whose  salaries  are  at  the  rate  of  one 
thousand  dollars  or  less,  all  of  whom  are  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  trading, 
execute  the  bond  given  in  Form  No.  3  ;  and  those  who  derive  their  compen- 
sation from  fees  (who  may  also  engage  in  business)  execute  the  bond  prescribed 
in  Form  No.  4.  The  prohibition  as  to  transacting  business  may,  however,  be 
extended,  in  the  discretion  of  the  President,  to  all  consular  officers,  whether 
receiving  salary  or  fees.  All  principal  consular  officers  are  required  by  law 
to  take  the  oath  in  Form  No.  1.  For  instructions  respecting  the  sureties  on 
the  bond  and  the  formalities  of  its  execution  see  note  to  Form  No.  2. 

A  consul-general  or  consul  appointed  to  one  consulate  is  prohibited  from 
holding  the  office  of  consul-general  or  consul  at  any  other  consulate,  or  from 
exercising  the  duties  thereof. 

Commercial  agents  are  appointed  by  the  President.  The)'  qualify  for 
their  offices  in  the  same  manner  in  all  respects  as  consuls-general  and  consuls. 

Vice-consuls-general,  deputy  consuls-general,  vice-consuls,  deputy  consuls,, 
vice-commercial  agents,  deputy  commercial  agents,  and  consular  agents  arc 
appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  usually  upon  the  nomination  of  the 
principal  consular  officer,  approved  by  the  consul-general  (if  the  nomination 
relates  to  a  consulate  or  commercial  agency),  or,  if  there  be  no  consul-general, 
then  by  the  diplomatic  representative.  If  there  be  no  consul-general  or 
diplomatic  representative,  the  nomination  should  be  transmitted  directly  to 
the  Department  of  State,  as  should  also  the  nominations  for  subordinate  officers 
in  Mexico,  British  India,  Manitoba,  and  British  Columbia.  The  nominations 
for  vice-consul-general  and  deputy  consul-general  must  be  submitted  to  the 
diplomatic  representative  for  approval,  if  there  be  one  resident  in  the  country. 
The  privilege  of  making  the  nominations  for  the  foregoing  subordinate  officers 
must  not  be  construed  to  limit  the  authority  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  as 
provided  by  law,  to  appoint  these  officers  without  such  previous  nomination 
by  the  principal  officer.  The  statutory  power  in  this  respect  is  reserved,  and 
it  will  be  exercised  in  all  cases  in  which  the  interests  of  the  service  or  other 
public  reasons  may  be  deemed  to  require  it. 

Consular  officers  recommending  appointments  of  this  character  must  in  all 
cases  submit  some  evidence  of  the  capacity,  character,  and  fitness  of  the  nom- 
inee for  the  office,  and  also  information  respecting  his  residence  and  the  State 
or  country  of  which  he  is  a  citizen  or  subject.  A  nomination  failing  to  give 
these  particulars  will  not  be  considered.     The  nomination  must  be  made  in  a 


32  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

dispatch  addressed  to  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  transmitted  through 
the  legation  or  consulate-general,  or  directly,  as  the  case  may  be.  A  minor 
will  not  be  approved  for  any  subordinate  consular  office.  All  persons  nom- 
inated for  subordinate  appointments  must  be  able  to  speak  and  read  the 
English  language. 

These  pages  may  seem  dull,  yet  they  illustrate  certain  facts  that 
American  boys  should  know,  as  it  should  be  a  part  of  education  to 
show  how  the  departments  of  our  own  government  are  conducted. 

Reader,  when  you  are  travelling,  always  visit  the  consulates,  and 
also  the  stations  of  the  missionaries  of  your  own  church.  You  will 
find  more  information  in  these  places  than  anywhere  else.  It  is  the 
consul's  business  to  answer  your  questions  in  regard  to  travel  and  to 
treat  you  well,  and  he  will  usually  do  these  things  with  great  pleasure 
to  himself  as  well  as  to  you.  As  for  the  missionary  stations,  they  stand 
for  progressive  education,  and  you  may  make  yourself  a  kind  of  mis- 
sionary by  bearing  good  reports  of  the  progress  that  such  places  usually 
illustrate.  Such  visits  will  educate  your  heart  as  well  as  your  head, 
and  perhaps  stimulate  your  conscience.     Go  ! 

Percy  was  delighted  with  the  tales  of  the  East.  Let  me  give  you 
from  time  to  time  some  of  the  books  that  he  read. 

•'Count  Lucanor,"  a  Spanish  book,  written  a  century  before  the 
invention  of  printing,  was  a  favorite  study.  It  had  the  charm  of  old 
Spain  and  Moorish  places.  Its  author  was  Don  Juan  Manuel,  the 
Spanish  Chaucer.  We  will  give  you  some  tales  from  this  curious 
book. 

"  Folk-Lore  Legends,  Russian  and  Polish,"  as  published  by  W.  W. 
Gibbings,  iS  Bury  Street,  London,  he  also  found  rich  in  tales  that  were 
almost  as  charming  to  the  fancy  as  the  story  of  the  days  of  "  Good 
Haroun   Alraschid."' 

We  shall  give  you  adaptions  of  the  best  stories  from  these  pages, 
as  they  are  still  the  delight  of  the  Eastern  ports. 

Percy  also  liked  those  American  stories  that  closely  resemble  those 
of  the  East. 


THE  SINGING   MOUSE.  33 

The  long  twilights  of  the  story-telling  garden  had  the  atmosphere 
for  such  curious  tales  and  wonder-tales.  His  father's  friends  in  the 
State  Department  and  old  consular  friends  would  gather  under  the 
trees,  and  with  them  social  travellers,  and  tell  tales  of  many  lands. 
After  the  story-telling  they  would  leave  the  garden  to  see  the  dome  of 
the  Capitol  gleaming  over  the  city  in  the  moonlight. 

Let  me  give  you  some  of  these  old  stories  by  visitors  from  the  New 
England  port  cities,  that  have  the  Oriental  curiosity  and  flavor.  There 
were  two  that  particularly  held  Percy's  fancy.  The  boy  used  to  repeat 
them  to  new  visitors,  and  they  seemed  to  many  to  have  an  almost 
Eastern  charm.  The  favorite  of  all  these  peculiar  stories  which  he 
used  to  relate  with  sympathetic  coloring,  after  the  Eastern  way,  and 
which  we  reproduce  in  our  own,  was, — 

THE   SINGING   MOUSE. 

"  GOOD-BV,  Alice.  It  is  a  cold  morning,  and  it  seems  hard  to  go  away 
and  leave  you  all  alone  in  the  dark ;  but  I  must  work.  We  have  to  work  to 
live.  To-morrow  will  be  Christmas.  I  wish  I  had  something  to  give  you  ;  but 
I  haven't.     Never  mind,  Alice,  I  love  you." 

The  old  man  opened  the  door  to  go,  then  looked  back  on  his  blind  daughter, 
whom  he  was  about  to  leave  all  alone  for  the  day.  He  wished  to  say  something 
more  to  comfort  her  in  the  long  hours  of  loneliness  that  were  to  follow. 

"Well,  be  good,  Alice.  Perhaps  the  good  fairies  will  come  to  you;  they 
come  at  Christmas-time,  they  say,  to  those  who  believe  that  the  world  is 
good." 

He  closed  the  door. 

"  The  world."  The  words  had  a  strange  far-away  meaning  to  Alice.  She 
had  never  seen  the  world.  She  had  felt  the  sunshine,  she  had  heard  distant 
bells  ringing  on  Sundays,  and  happy  birds  singing  in  the  cool  green  trees  of 
the  park  on  summer  morns.  She  knew  when  the  seasons  came  and  changed, 
but  she  had  never  seen  the  springs  light  up  the  hills,  and  burst  into  flowers,  or 
the  summer  dawns  and  groves  and  rivers  and  hay-fields,  or  the  autumn  fruits 
and  burning  leaves,  or  the  fleecy  fall  of  white  snows.  The  winds  of  the  seasons 
sang  to  her;   she  had  listened  to  their  music  for  sixteen  years.     When  a  youn°- 

3 


34  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

child  she  had  had  the  scarlet-fever,  and  it  had  left  her  weak  and  helpless,  and 
a  slow  darkness  had  come  over  her  eyes,  shutting  out  the  light  more  and  more 
day  by  day,  until  at  last  the  bright  world  disappeared,  and  was  lost.  She  was 
blind.  She  could  now  only  dimly  remember  that  she  had  ever  seen  the  world. 
Only  two  things  had  left  pictures  on  her  mind  ;  they  were  the  face  of  her 
mother,  who  was  now  dead,  and  a  canary-bird  that  had  sung  over  her  bed  in 
her  sickness.  She  loved  to  dream  of  them  always,  — the  beautiful  face  and  the 
golden  bird. 

Late  in  the  morning  an  old  woman  named  Lucy  came  into  the  room.  She 
always  visited  the  blind  girl  once  a  day,  and  in  winter  oftener. 

"  Can  I  do  anything  for  you,  Alice?"  she  asked  kindly. 

"  Father  says  that  to-morrow  will  be  Christmas.  It  is  the  day  of  Christ,  and 
I  suppose  that  everything  is  beautiful.  Shall  I  ever  see  Christmas?  I  wish  I 
could  !  " 

"  Oh,  Alice,  believe  that  you  will,  and  you  will.  How  bright  the  snows 
glisten  on  the  roof  of  the  Perkins  Institute  for  the  Blind  !  I  wish  you  could 
see  the  wings  of  the  doves  that  fly  among  the  chimneys  over  there.  It  always 
looks  bright  up  there;    all  places  look  pleasant  where  people  do  good." 

"  For  the  blind?  Did  you  say  for  the  blind?  Could  I  not  go  there?  Per- 
haps they  would  help  me." 

"  But  you  would  have  to  leave  your  dear  old  father.  That  is  an  asylum, 
and  your  eyes  are  all  grown  over.  But  don't  lose  heart,  child.  Strange  things 
happen  to  those  that  believe.  The  believing  heart  receiveth  all  things.  Ask 
the  Lord  to  send  you  the  good  fairies  of  Christmas,  and  the  good  fairies  will 
come.  I  have  always  noticed  that  the  good  fairies  come  to  those  who  expect 
them." 

"  Oh,  Lucy,  I  do  so  wish  I  could  see,  like  you  !  The  bells  will  ring,  but  I 
shall  not  see  the  Day  Beautiful.  Don't  you  pity  me,  Lucy?  Let  me  kiss  you." 
The  old  woman  clasped  the  girl  to  her  bosom.  "  Lucy,  1  believe  in  you  —  and 
father." 

The  faith  of  the  girl  touched  the  old  woman's  heart.  There  are  few  sweeter 
words  than  these,  "  I  believe  in  you."  The  confidence  made  old  Lucy  wish  to 
help  the  sightless  girl.  Faith  always  has  this  influence.  Lucy  turned  away, 
and  a  happy  thought  came  into  her  mind,  like  an  angel  flying  across  the  sky. 
She  had  a  few  pennies.  She  would  buy  some  chestnuts  from  the  griz/.ly  old 
chestnut-roaster  on  the  street,  and  would  put  them  in  Alice's  stocking.  So  she 
stopped  at  the  door  as  she  was  about  to  go,  and  said,  — 

"  Alice,  other  girls  hang  their  stockings  under  the  shelf  on  Christmas  Eve, 
and  they  do  say  that  the  good  fairies  come  in  the  night  and  put  things  into 


THE   SINGING  MOUSE. 


35 


them.  You  hang  up  yours  to-night  above  the  stove.  You  cannot  tell  what 
may  happen.  I  see  you  have  faith  in  your  heart.  It  is  a  good  thing  to 
believe  in  God  and  everybody.  If  all  people  did  this,  what  a  happy  world 
it  would  be  ! ' 

Alice  did  not  comprehend  all  this  homely  philosophy,  but  she  felt  the  spirit 
of  it.  She  heard  Lucy  going.  A  new  delight  came  into  her  heart,  her  face 
grew  bright,  and  she  said.  — 

"  Oh,  Lucy,  I  feel  that  everything  is  good  around  me  and  above  me,  and 
I  believe  in  everything  !  I  shall  see  Christmas  —  the  Day  Beautiful  —  some- 
day.    Yes,  Lucy,  I  surely  will.     I  feel  it  here.     I  shall  see." 

She  crossed  her  white  hands  on  her  heart,  and  sat  smiling.  Old  Lucy  went 
away,  but  Alice  sat  there  still,  as  lovely  as  a  mute  statue  of  Faith.  She  heard 
the  footsteps  hurrying  by  on  the  street,  a  rift  of  sunlight  came  into  the  room 
from  the  thinly  parting  snow  clouds,  and  she  felt  the  brightness  of  the  light  that 
she  could  not  see. 

There  was  a  little  noise  in  the  room — a  rustle.  Something  was  there,  —  a 
tiny  something.  Was  it  a  fairy's  foot  ?  It  was  now  here,  now  there,  airy, 
timid. 

Alice  listened.  She  heard  nothing  more  for  a  time.  She  recalled  the  tales 
of  Grimm,  Anderson,  Fouque,  Haupt,  and  Hoffmann  that  her  mother  used  to  tell 
her.     Was  it  a  fairy?      It  was  not  the  wind,  for  the  air  was  still. 

Again  an  airy  trip  across  the  floor  like  a  little  wing.  Was  it  the  spirit  of 
the  dead  canary  that  she  could  see  still  in  the  dim  twilight  of  memory?  Her 
heart  beat.  Again  and  again  it  sped  across  the  floor,  like  a  thing  of  air.  Once 
it  came  near  her  feet.     Oh,  that  she  could  see  ! 

What  was  that?  Music?  Surely  it  was.  In  a  corner  of  the  room.  Soft 
music  like  the  summer  wind  among  the  high  wires  over  the  street,  like  a  harp 
in  the  park,  like  the  dead  canary's  remembered  song,  only  not  sharp  like  that 
—  more  light,  more  soft,  more  timid.  Fairy  music  it  might  be.  A  fairy  play- 
ing a  harp. 

It  came  again.  It  could  not  be  a  cricket.  Crickets  sometimes  came  to 
those  tenement-houses  in  the  dead  world,  but  it  was  winter  now.  How  it  sang 
and  sang  !  Alice  listened  with  a  thrilled  and  wonder-delighted  heart.  She 
moved  her  foot.     The  music  was  gone  with  a  little  rustle  like  a  wing. 

"Lucy!"  she  screamed. 

Old  Lucy  came.     "What,  Alice,  girl?" 

"  My  old  canary  has  come  back,  and  has  been  singing  to  me.  Something 
good  is  going  to  happen.     Do  dead  birds  sing?  " 

Lucy   did   not   know.     She   saw  nothing   and   heard   nothing.      She   kissed 


36  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

Alice,  and  only  said,  "You  have  been  dreaming,  child;   but  dreams  of  faith 
often  come  true." 

That  afternoon  the  street  was  all  bells.  Door-bells  were  ringing.  There 
were  bells  on  the  horses,  bells  on  the  sleds  of  the  children.  The  sun  of  the 
short  day  faded  out  of  the  room,  and  all  the  air  became  melodious  and  palpita- 
ting with  chimes.     At  twilight  all  was  music,  —  bells,  bells,  bells. 

Then  fell  a  hush  between  the  twilight  and  the  evening  festivals.  The  street 
lamps  were  lit;  one  of  them  flashed  into  the  window.  There  were  a  few  still 
moments,  a  rustle,  and  the  same  sweet  harp-like,  cricket-like  music  filled  the 
room  again.  Alice  did  not  stir.  It  lasted  long.  There  was  a  footfall  on  the 
stairs,  another  little  rustle  and  an  airy  run,  and  the  music  was  gone. 

The  door  opened.  "  Oh,  father,  father,  my  dead  canary  has  been  here,  and 
has  been  singing  to  me!  Oh,  it  was  like  silver;  so  beautiful — beautiful!  I 
wish  that  I   could  see  !  " 

"  Be  patient,  my  little  daughter.  Perhaps  it  will  all  come  by-and-by.  I 
told  you  that  the  fairies  of  good  came  to  those  who  believe  in  them.  I  have 
brought  home  a  whole  loaf  of  pound-cake  and  two  oranges  to-night  because  it 
is  Christmas  Eve,  and  I  have  been  thinking  so  much  of  you  to-day.  We  will 
eat  them  together." 

Poor  old  Hugh  Meadowcraft,  the  laborer  at  the  docks  where  ships  unloaded 
their  freight,  felt  a  new  vitality  in  his  weary  limbs  as  he  rattled  the  grate,  and 
put  the  meat  on  the  stove  to  fry,  and  poured  out  the  coffee  into  the  coffee-pot, 
and  prepared  the  evening  meal.  His  employer,  the  ship-master,  had  added  two 
dollars  to  his  simple  wages  for  this  week.  He  had  paid  his  rent  for  his  two 
rooms,  and  bought  a  pound-cake  for  her,  and  he  was  a  happy  man.  He  heard 
nothing  but  goodness  in  all  the  bells  that  were  ringing  near  and  far,  and  as  he 
sat  down  to  his  tea  with  his  blind  child,  he  said,  •'  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Alice, 
this  is  a  good  world  to  live  in ;  and  I  think  that  the  next  will  be  better  still. 
There  's  nothing,  child,  like  love  and  faith  and  hope;  they  are  all  the  world  of 
happiness.  A  king  can  have  no  more.  Smell  the  coffee,  and  hear  the  kettle 
sing.     The  bells  are  all  ringing  yonder,  everywhere." 

They  ate  in  happy  silence.  Suddenly  there  was  a  lute-like  sound,  like  a 
harp  of  air. 

"  Listen,  father." 

"  Fairies." 

Old  Hugh  moved  his  chair.     The  music  ceased. 

"  You  have  heard  it,  father  —  the  canary?  " 

"It  is  very  strange.  It  is  nothing  bad,  Alice;  it  bodes  no  evil;  only  a 
good  fairy  ever  sang  like  that." 


THE   SINGING  MOUSE.  37 

Night  came,  with  the  temples  of  the  stars  shining  in  the  sky  ;  the  streets 
thronged;  there  were  merry  voices  in  the  clear  still  air.  Old  Lucy  came  in, 
and  laughed  at  Alice's  fairy.  Nine  o'clock  came,  and  Hugh  went  to  his  room, 
and  Alice  for  the  first  time  in  her  life  hung  up  her  stocking  for  Santa  Claus,  or 
the  fairies,  or  the  spirit  of  good  that  haunts  the  world's  better  self.  She  went 
t0  beci  —  jt  had  been  a  thrilling  day  to  her  —  and  went  to  sleep  to  dream  of  the 
song  of  the  golden  bird. 

She  awoke  early,  or  was  awakened  by  a  little  noise.  What  was  that?  A 
nibbling  sound  under  the  shelf  and  over  the  stovepipe;  in  the  very  place  where 
she  had  hung  her  stocking. 

She  rose  softly,  slowly.  The  nibbling  sound  continued,  and  there  was  a 
rustle  as  of  nuts.  Hush  !  The  canary  was  singing  again,  —  in  the  dark,  under 
the  shelf,  over  the  stove-pipe,  where  she  had  hung  her  stocking. 

She  crept  toward  the  place  silently  and  listened.  Could  it  be?  Yes,  the 
music  was  in  her  stocking,  away  down  in  her  stocking  toward  the  foot.  How 
sweet  and  silvery  and  happy  it  was!  She  put  out  her  trembling  hand  and 
grasped  the  top  of  the  stocking;  she  felt  a  motion  of  some  living  thing  in  it. 
She  pinched  the  toe;  it  was  full  of  something.  What  had  happened?  She 
screamed. 

Her  father  came  to  the  door  with  a  light.     "  What  is  it,  Alice?" 

"  The  canary  in  my  stocking.'' 

"  No,  no,  girl.     Here,  let  me  see." 

Old  Hugh  opened  the  top  of  the  stocking.  "  Santa  Claus  has  been  to  see 
you,  Alice  ;  and  he  has  left  a  mouse,  I  do  declare." 

Old  Lucy  came,  running.  "See  here,  will  wonders  ever  cease?  Alice  has 
found  a  mouse  in  her  stocking." 

"  Kill  it !  "  said  old  Lucy.      "  It  is  after  the  nuts  that  —  " 

"  Oh,  no,  no;  don't  kill  it!  "  said  Alice.  "  I  beg  of  you,  don't  kill  it!  It 
sings." 

"  Oh,  no,  girl,  it  don't  sing  ;  and  it  will  eat  up  all  the  nuts.  Let  me  call  the 
cat." 

"Oh,  no;  I  tell  you  it  sings  like  a  canary.  Let  me  have  the  stocking  ;  " 
and  Alice  seized  it,  and  threw  herself  upon  the  bed.  "  Let  me  have  it  —  let 
me  have  it  until  day!"  said  she.  "Let  me  be  alone  with  it  for  a  little  while. 
Oh,  please  do  !  It  means  good  to  me.  I  feel  it  does.  Let  me  have  it  a  little 
while." 

"Let  her  be,"  said  old  Hugh.  "Perhaps  it  is  a  singing  mouse — who 
knows?  I  have  heard  of  them.  They  bring  good  luck.  Likely  it  was  that 
she  heard  yesterday,  and  that  we  heard  at  tea." 


38  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

Morning  came,  —  a  splendor  of  billowy  clouds,  sunshine,  and  glistening 
snow.     Old  Hugh  rose  late,  and  came  into  the  room. 

"  Oh,  father,  it  has  been  singing  again ;  and  the  stocking  is  half  full  of  nuts, 
and  I  have  touched  it  with  my  hand  It  is  soft,  and  its  heart  makes  its  little 
body  tremble  all  over.     Did  Santa  Claus  leave  it,  father?  " 

"  I  don't  know ;  and  it  is  n't  much  matter,  I  guess,  as  long  as  you  are 
happy." 

The  mouse  continued  to  nibble  the  nuts  and  to  sing.  Hugh  began  to  be 
interested  in  it.     He  called  old  Lucy  into  the  room  to  hear  it  sing. 

"  Just  you  be  still  and  listen,"  said  he. 

The  mouse  began  to  nibble,  then  to  sing. 

The  doctor  called  to  see  a  sick  woman  who  lived  in  the  house. 

"  Doctor,"  said  Lucy,  "  did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  thing  as  a  singing 
mouse?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  There  's  one  in  the  other  room,  and  I  want  you  to  hear  it." 

The  doctor  was  in  a  hurry  to  go,  but  his  curiosity  was  excited.  He  stepped 
into  Alice's  room,  saw  the  little  mouse  in  the  trap  cage,  and  presently  heard 
it  sing. 

It  looked  so  cunning  standing  there  on  its  hind-feet,  and  moving  its  fore- 
feet as  though  playing  on  a  tiny  violin  —  so  pretty,  so  toy-like,  so  comical  — 
that  the  doctor  was  delighted,  and  he  lingered  there  for  nearly  half  an  hour, 
notwithstanding  his  haste  at  first  to  go.  Then  his  face  turned  to  Alice  —  how 
happy  and  lovely  she  looked  !  —  and  he  said,  — 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  your  eyes,  my  girl?" 

"  I  am  blind.  I  cannot  see  you  or  father;  I  cannot  see  Christmas,  the  day 
that  they  call  Beautiful ;  I  cannot  see  the  singing  mouse.  Oh,  doctor,  I  wish 
I  could  see !  I  feel  that  some  good  influence  is  following  me.  Can't  you 
help  me  ?  " 

"  Come  to  the  window  with  me,  my  girl,  and  let  me  examine  your  eyes. 
You  ought  to  be  treated  by  an  oculist,"  said  he.  "  I  declare,  I  must  tell  my 
friend  Phillips  about  you.  His  wife  is  an  invalid  ;  she  will  want  to  see  the 
singing  mouse.  She  likes  to  meet  everybody  who  has  trouble  and  to  make 
them  happy.  She  feeds  with  coin  all  the  organ-grinders  in  the  street,  and 
watches  at  her  window  for  faces  in  distress.  Here  is  a  case  for  her.  My  girl, 
I  have  hopes  that  you  may  see  again.  There  is  a  growth  over  your  eyes;  it 
may  be  removed.     I  will  be  your  friend.     What  is  your  name?  " 

"  Alice  —  Alice  Meadowcraft." 

He  went  away  slowly,  leading  Alice  back  to  her  chair.  And  the  mouse 
was  sinsine. 


THE  SINGING   MOUSE.  39 

"  Will  be  your  friend."  Alice's  face  was  a  picture  of  happiness,  and  beauti- 
ful with  hope.  "  Friend  !  "  He  might  cause  the  heavens  to  lift  again  before 
her  eyes  full  of  sunrises,  moonrises,  sunsets,  rainbows,  and  stars.  He  might 
cause  the  flowers  to  bloom  again,  the  birds  to  come  again,  to  her  eyes.  He 
might  bring  again  the  face  of  her  father  to  hers,  and  she  might  yet  see  the  Day 
Beautiful. 

There  lived  on  Essex  Street  at  this  time  a  tall,  patriarchal  man,  with  grand 
manners  and  a  most  beautiful  face,  whom  the  whole  nation  feared,  but  whom 
all  the  poor  people  of  that  neighborhood  loved.  He  would  face  a  political 
mob  with  perfect  calmness,  but  he  could  never  say  "  No  "  to  an  unfortunate 
man  or  a  homeless  child.  He  was  of  distinguished  family,  and  had  inherited 
wealth ;  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  and  a  correspondent  of  the  greatest  statesmen 
of  the  world,  yet  he  lived  in  a  simple  way,  and  died  poor,  having  given  away 
all  that  he  had.  He  sleeps  now  in  a  lot  assigned  him  by  friendly  charity  in 
the  beautiful  Milton  (Massachusetts)  burying-ground,  near  the  old  house  of 
the  "  Suffolk  Resolves,"  which  "  resolves "  was  the  first  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

This  man,  whose  criticism  even  good  President  Lincoln  declared  that  he 
dreaded  more  than  any  other,  and  whose  white  hand  waved  mobs  backward 
like  a  prophet's,  at  this  time  towered  through  the  streets  near  where  the  Old 
Colony  and  Albany  depots  now  are,  loved,  feared,  hated,  carrying  his  own 
market  basket  in  the  morning,  and  at  night  thrilling  assemblies  with  silver- 
tongued  eloquence  such  as  is  not  now  heard  in  Boston.  His  wife  was  an 
invalid,  and  he  was  her  nurse  for  a  lifetime. 

The  next  day  the  doctor  came  to  the  long  rambling  house  where  Alice 
lived,  and  he  brought  with  him  this  statesman  who  scorned  public  office,  but 
whose  words  moved  the  conscience  of  the  people  and  led  the  struggles  of  the 
world. 

How  grand  and  noble  he  looked  as  he  stood  there  in  that  poor  room  and 
took  the  hand  of  Alice,  the  blind  girl ! 

"  I  have  come  to  hear  your  little  mouse  sing,"  said  he.  Then  he  started 
back.  He  looked  upon  the  blind  eyes  of  that  beautiful  face.  "  I  must  let  you 
go  over  and  see  Ann.     She  will  send  you  to  Mrs.  Anagnos." 

The  little  mouse  was  induced  to  sing  after  a  time,  and  the  two  went  away. 

"  I  will  call  for  you  some  day,"  said  the  patriarch. 

"  Mrs.  Anagnos!"  Who  was  Mrs.  Anagnos?  The  name  rang  in  Alice's 
mind.  She  asked  the  few  that  came  into  her  room  who  was  Mrs.  Anagnos. 
None  of  them   knew. 

At  last  the  grocer  came  with  a  simple  parcel.  Alice  asked  him  the  question 
that  so  haunted  her. 


40  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  Oh,  she  is  the  daughter  of  Julia  Ward  Howe  —  she  who  wrote,  — 
'  Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord.' " 

And  he  hurried  away.     But  the  mouse  was  singing. 

The  line  seemed  a  prophecy.  Who  wrote  it,  —  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  or 
Mrs.  Anagnos?  She  would  ask  the  newsboy  when  he  passed.  She  did.  His 
answer  was  odd,  but  satisfactory :  — 

"  She  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Anagnos,  who  keeps  the  Blind  Asylum  over  in 
South  Boston,  and  helps  blind  people  to  read.  He  might  make  you  see. 
Better  go  and  see  her.  She  is  a  great  big  woman,  and  she  's  just  good  to 
everybody,  like  RIis  Phillips.  She  'd  make  you  see,  like  's  not.  I  'd  try  her, 
anyway." 

Alice  went  back  to  her  room,  her  mind  all  roses,  and  the  little  mouse  was 
singing  again. 

One  day  the  patriarch  came  again,  and  he  took  Alice  to  the  two-story  brick 
house  on  Essex  Street,  to  meet  his  invalid  wife.  How  tenderly  they  talked  to 
her !     And  "  Ann  "  kissed  her,  and  said,  — 

"  We  will  see  your  father,  and  I  think  I  will  send  a  carriage  for  you  some 
day,  and  you  shall  visit  Mrs.  Anagnos.  I  think,  too,  that  Mrs.  Anagnos  will 
want  you  to  stay  with  her  a  while,  and  I  perhaps  will  take  care  of  your  mouse 
while  you  are  gone.     I  love  little  animals,  and  I  live  in  my  room  alone." 

"  Do  you  think  that  she  will  make  me  see?  "  said  Alice,  —  "  see  father  and 
the  day  that  they  call  Beautiful?  " 

The  high  rooms  of  the  Blind  Asylum  at  South  Boston  overlook  the  city, 
the  bowery  suburbs,  and  the  glorious  harbor.  The  world  of  life,  of  spires, 
towers,  ships,  parks,  and  gardens,  lies  under  them.  In  one  of  these  rooms 
Alice  found  a  new  home.  And  here  one  day  the  doctors  gave  her  a  breath  of 
ether,  and  she  went  away  to  dreamland;  and  when  she  came  back  again,  Mrs. 
Anagnos  stood  over  her,  and  kissed  her,  and  a  doctor  said,  — 

"  The  operation  has  been  successful.     You  will  see  again." 

"  When?  "  said  Alice,  whose  eyes  were  in  thick  bandages.     "  Oh,  when?  " 

"  I  will  say  on  Christmas  Day, — the  day  you  call  Beautiful.  You  must  be 
kept  in  a  dark  room  until  then.  If  your  eyes  do  well,  I  will  let  your  friends 
come  to  see  you  next  Christmas,  and  I  will  lift  the  curtain,  and  you  shall  see 
the  world  again." 

Touchingly  faithful  were  the  visits  of  Mrs.  Anagnos  to  the  silent  room  of 
Alice.  All  the  blind  people  loved  this  woman  whom  they  could  not  see,  but 
whose  presence  was  a  spiritual   benediction.      Her  heart  was  always  with  them, 


"  '  WAIT    TILL   THE    SUN    GOES    INTO    A    CLOUD,'    SAID    THE    DOCTOR." 


THE   SINGING   MOUSE.  43 

and  when  she  lay  dying,  her  last  request  was,  "  Don't  forget  my  poor  blind 
children." 

Christmas  was  drawing  near;  streets  were  crowded  and  bells  were  ringing 
acrain ;  the  mellowness  of  autumn  lingered,  and  there  was  an  April  blue  in  the 
December  sky. 

"  I  shall  see  the  world  to-morrow,"  said  Alice. 

"Yes,  to-morrow,"  said  the  doctor;  "and  your  father  and  friends  will  be 
here." 

It  was  Christmas  afternoon.  Alice  sat  in  a  dim  room,  the  bandages  had 
long  been  removed  from  her  eyes,  and  she  had  seen  Mrs.  Anagnos  in  the 
shadows,  and  had  kissed  her  face.  For  a  few  days,  indeed,  she  had  sat  in  a 
room  that  was  almost  light.  She  had  been  tempted  again  and  again  to  lift  the 
curtain,  and  open  the  blind,  and  steal  one  glimpse  of  the  new  world. 

Her  father  came.  She  looked  upon  his  old  hard  hands  —  into  his  eyes. 
They  were  like  her  own.  His  hair  was  white  —  not  like  hers.  Were  other 
men's  heads  so  white?  One  of  the  teachers  had  sent  her  a  Christmas  rose. 
How  lovely  it  was  !  How  pitiable  it  seemed  that  any  one  should  be  unable  to 
see  it!  Dr.  Howe  came,  his  soul  of  love  shining  through  his  noble  face.  The 
doctor  came  —  he  who  had  promised  to  be  her  friend  —  and  the  patriarch. 
Shadow  people  were  they  all,  but  such  glorious  shadow  people  ! 

The  doctor's  hair  was  not  white :  it  was  like  her  own.  His  face  was  not 
white ;  it  was  olive,  and  a  rose  was  on  it.  Alice  was  filled  with  wonder  at  the 
stately  shadow  people,  but  her  heart  went  out  to  the  doctor  at  once.  Was  it 
not  he  who  had  said,  "  I  will  be  your  friend  "? 

"  Wait  till  the  sun  goes  into  a  cloud,"  said  the  hospital  doctor.  A  shadow 
passed  over  the  glimmering  window.      "  Now !  " 

The  curtain  was  lifted. 

There  it  lay  —  the  Day  Beautiful!  The  blue  sky,  with  the  sun  curtained  in 
a  cloud;  the  broad  city,  with  its  dome;  the  long  harbor,  with  its  white  sails; 
the  streets  full  of  people  ;  the  parks  ;  the  far  horizons  ;  there  it  lay, —  the  world  ; 
and  she  had  come  among  the  people  of  all  this  beautiful  existence  to  be  one 
of  them. 

"This  is  Christ's  da)","  she  said. 

"  Yes." 

"  Are  other  days  like  this?  " 

"  Yes  —  all." 

"And  I  shall  see  them?     Oh,  what  a  bliss  it  will  be  to  live  !  " 

She  turned  to  her  friend  the  doctor  with  streaming  eyes,  and  said,  "  It  was 
you  that  promised  to  be  my  friend.     I  owe  this  all  to  you." 


44 


ZIGZAG    JOURNEYS   ON    THE    MEDITERRANEAN. 


"  No,"  he  said  ;    "  it  was  the  mouse,  —  the  singing  mouse." 

"  It  was  not  a  common  mouse.     Do  you  think  so?" 

■'  No  ;   it  was  a  singing  mouse." 

"  I  did  not  mean  that ;  it  was  all  a  finger  of  —  something."  She  held  out  her 
hand  and  looked  at  her  own  finger.  "  I  can't  tell  what  I  want  to  say.  Don't 
you  know,  doctor?" 

It  was  a  wet  day  in  February:  I  recall  it  well.  It  had  rained  and  rained, 
and  all  the  tall  houses  were  dripping.     It  had  been   announced  that  a  private 


FANEUIL    HALL. 


citizen  would  that  day  lie  in  state  in  Faneuil  Hall.  The  Shaw  Guards  were  to 
escort  the  remains  thither,  and  stand  guard  over  them.  He  had  never  held 
an  office  :  he  had  never  led  Senates  or  armies,  or  anything  but  the  march  of 
human  thought.     Yet  the  great  square  filled  with  people  in  the  rain.     Faneuil 


THE    VILLAGE   MYSTERY.  45 

Hall  market-places  were  full  of  drenched  people,  —  poor  people,  shivering 
people,  teamsters,  old  farmers,  Irishmen,  Irishwomen,  colored  men,  colored 
women,  children,  folk  from  out  of  town,  men  ot  the  trades,  an  army  of  laborers. 
Social  leaders  were  not  there ;  politicians  were  not  there ,  men  who  trade  in 
the  hopes  of  the  poor  were  not  there ;  nor  any  who,  under  any  pretext,  take 
from  the  poor  their  birthright.  Hut  the  squares  were  full.  There  was  a  dirge 
in  the  rain,  a  procession  of  black  faces,  and  then  a  stay  in  the  pouring  ram  ;  after 
vvhich  the  great  tide  of  hearts  was  allowed  to  pour  into  the  hall. 

A  man  and  a  very  beautiful  woman  came  with  the  surging  crowd,  and  as  the 
woman  bent  over  to  kiss  the  white  form  of  the  dead,  it  seemed  as  if  her  heart 
was  broken.  The  man  was  compelled  to  force  her  away  that  others  might  rain 
tears  on  the  cold  roses.  That  woman  was  Alice  Meadowcraft  Holly,  and  the 
man  was  her  husband,  the  doctor.  Then  I  thought  of  the  singing  mouse,  of 
the  Day  Beautiful,  and  of  the  good  Angel  of  Faith,  whose  hand,  unseen,  had 
been  in  it  all. 

Another  of  these  stories  which  the  American  practical  mind,  unlike 
the  Eastern,  seeks  to  explain,  was  a  mid-New-England  fireside  tale  which 
has  found  many  versions,  of  which  the  following  is  one. 


THE   VILLAGE   MYSTERY. 

ONE  April  morning  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  a  very  curious 
group  of  farmers  might  have  been  seen  in  an  old  blacksmith's  shop  near  the 
village  of  Henniker,  N.  H.,  intent  on  discussing  a  remarkable  event  that  had 
recently  occurred  in  the  neighborhood. 

A  common  farm-horse,  of  no  especial  note,  except  it  was  white,  had  walked 
in  the  night  across  the  deep  torrents  of  Contoocook  River  at  a  point  where 
the  bridge  had  been  lately  washed  away  by  a  freshet,  carrying  a  young  woman 
on  his  back.  The  river  at  the  time  was  swollen,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet 
deep.  The  night  was  dark  and  cloudy,  and  had  followed  an  early  spring  tem- 
pest, which  the  farmers  had  called  the  "  breaking-up  of  winter."  The  young 
woman  was  not  aware  that  the  bridge  had  been  carried  away  until  the  day  after 
this  mysterious  crossing  of  the  swollen  stream. 

The  event  was  regarded  as  well-nigh  miraculous,  and  had  caused  great  excite- 
ment in  the  usually  quiet  little  village.  The  proof  was  positive  that  the  horse 
had  crossed  the  torrent,  and  people  came  daily  to  visit  the  old  white  animal  in 
the  stable;   and  the  poor  creature  that  had  led  an  uneventful  life  of  good  and 


46  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

steady  service  among  the  roads,  fields,  and  pastures  of  the  Contoocook  received 
the  name  of  The  Miraculous  Horse. 

How  man)-  people  in  Henniker  many  years  ago  were  familiar  with  the  story 
of  The  Enchanted  Horse  in  the  "  Arabian  Nights,"  or  with  the  Macric  Horse  of 
Dan  Chaucer's  delightful  fiction,  we  do  not  know.  But  many  of  them  were 
proud  that  their  town  had  produced  a  horse  that  could  walk  upon  the  water 
even  if  he  could  not  rly. 

There  were  other  people,  in  a  very  small  minority,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases, 
or  was  at  that  time,  who  believed  that  some  natural  explanation  could  be  found 
for  the  feat  of  the  water-walking  horse,  and  that  time  would  bring  to  light  some 
curious  solution  of  the  mystery. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  public  mind  on  this  blue  April  morning  that 
found  a  gathering  of  rugged  farmers  at  the  old  New  Hampshire  smithy. 

The  occasion  of  the  extraordinay  gathering  was  as  follows :  Smith  Smart, 
the  honest  blacksmith,  had  been  told  the  day  before,  by  Samuel  Samson,  the 
owner  of  The  Miraculous  Horse,  that  the  latter  would  ride  over  to  the  smithy 
the  next  morning,  and  have  the  white  horse  shod.  The  interesting  animal  had 
not  been  shod  since  he  had  walked  upon  the  water  on  the  cloudy  night.  Smith 
Smart  therefore  regarded  the  shoeing  of  the  horse  as  a  matter  of  no  common 
concern,  and  he  had  told  his  friends  to  "  come  around  "  and  see  the  shoes  set 
on  the  miraculous  roadster,  and  further  discuss  the  mystery. 

"What  time  did  Samson  say  that  he  would  be  here?  "  asked  old  Judge  Camp- 
bell, stamping  the  snow  from  his  feet,  and  holding  his  great  hands  over  the  fire 
of  the  smithw 

"  About  nine,  I  guess,"  said  the  blacksmith,  bearing  down  on  the  lever  of  the 
bellows,  and  so  sending  a  red  flame  into  the  air  which  touched  the  judge's  coat- 
sleeve. 

"  Cracky  !  don't  you  burn  me  !  "  said  the  judge.  "  I  am  not  made  of  iron  or 
steel,  if  I  do  sit  upon  the  bench  and  administer  justice.  There  he  comes  now, 
I  do  declare.  I  don't  know  how  it  may  be  with  the  rest  of  you,  but  I  can't  see 
anything  peculiar  about  that  old  white  horse.  He  is  just  a  horse,  a  white  horse, 
to  me;  and  I  wouldn't  have  given  twenty  dollars  for  him  before  he  walked 
across  the  Contoocook  on  the  water. 

Farmer  Samson  came  riding  up  to  the  smithy.  He  had  often  done  so 
before,  as  now,  on  horseback,  and  neither  he  nor  the  horse  had  been  objects  of 
any  special  interest  to  anybody.  But  he  came  now  gravely  and  silently,  as 
though  he  were  a  prophet,  and  the  heavens  were  about  to  fall;  and  the  old 
farmers  gaped  at  the  horse  with  open  mouths  and  wide  eyes.  The  farmer  dis- 
mounted, and  left  the  horse  standing  in  the  April  sun,  that  poured  through  the 
great  doors  of  the  smithy. 


THE    VILLAGE    MYSTERY.  47 

"  Well,"  he  said  at  last,  "  there  he  is.  If  you  can  shoe  the  air  and  the 
water,  shoe  him.  These  are  solemn  times,  judge,  —  solemn  times  !  Signs  and 
wonders,  wheels  within  wheels,  like  Ezekiel's  vision ;  and  I  don't  know  what 
the  world  is  a-comin'  to.  I  sometimes  think  that  the  times  of  Cotton  Mather 
and  ghosts  and  flying  women  are  about  to  return  again  to  New  England. 
It  is  a  mystery  why  fate  should  set  its  sign  on  that  old  white  horse,  but  so 
it  is." 

The  horse  stood  there,  very  quiet  and  demure.  He  did  not  look  as  though 
he  had  been  the  medium  of  any  special  revelation.  He  did  not  so  much  as 
wink.  He  was  worn  with  hard  work  of  many  years  ;  had  an  intelligent,  reliable 
look ;  did  not  fear  the  forge ;  and  seemed  to  be  glad  that  spring  had  come,  and 
to  enjoy  the  sunshine.     No  one  would  have  taken  him  for  an  oracle. 

"  Samson,  did  you  ever  notice  anything  peculiar  about  that  horse  before 
that  awful  night?"  asked  the  judge. 

"  No ;  only  he  is  the  most  sure-footed  animal  I  ever  had.  Whatever  I  set 
him  to  doin',  he  will  do,  —  plough  without  a  driver  ;  furrow  without  lines  ;  go 
home  from  mill  all  alone  with  a  bag  of  meal  on  his  back,  and  leave  the  grist  at 
the  door.  He  never  had  no  antics  nor  capers,  nor  nothin'  of  that  kind ;  but  he 
has  had  the  strongest  horse-sense  of  any  animal  I  ever  knew.  Seems  as  though 
sometimes  he  had  a  soul.  I  always  thought  that  I  would  hate  to  kill  him  when 
he  became  old.     He  might  haunt  me. 

"  He  carried  me  to  be  married,  and  bore  away  two  of  my  children  to  their 
graves ;  and  Martha  would  have  been  dead,  too,  if  he  had  n't  a-walked  over  the 
water  like  a  spirit  horse  in  the  dead  o'  night,  under  the  scudding  clouds,  and 
brought  the  doctor  just  in  the  nick  o'  time.  Poor  old  Jack  !  there  are  not 
many  more  weddings  and  funerals  for  you  to  go  to  in  my  family.  I  do  think, 
judge,  that  there  ought  to  be  some  law  to  protect  an  old  family  horse, —  a 
hospital,  or  somethin'." 

Samson  twined  his  fingers  in  the  animal's  mane. 

"  I  always  noticed  that  that  animal  had  a  kind  of  far-away  look  in  his  eye, 
as  though  he  was  sort  of  pryin'  into  futurity,"  said  old  Deacon  Bonney.  "  It 's 
a  case  like  Balaam,  you  may  depend.  It  ain't  no  use  talkin' ;  your  Martha  is  a 
good  woman,  and  she  was  goin'  to  die  without  a  doctor,  and  the  powers  above 
just  let  the  good  old  white  horse  have  his  way  ;  and  he  went  over  the  river, 
waterfalls  and  all,  dry  shod,  like  the  Israelites  of  old.     He  was  uplifted." 

"  He  never  went  over  the  Contoocook  River  dry  shod,  without  there  was 
somethin'  under  his  feet,"  said  the  village  schoolmaster,  Ephraim  Cole,  who 
had  come  with  the  rest,  as  the  day  was  Saturday  and  a  holiday.  "  Even  the 
Israelites  had  the  winds  to  help  them.     There  are  no  effects  without  causes. 


48  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   OX  THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

and  that  horse  went  across  the  river  in  some  perfectly  natural  way,  you  may 
be  sure.     Wait  and  see.     Time  will  tell  the  truth  about  all  things." 

"  Samson,"  said  the  judge,  "  I  want  you  to  tell  us  the  true  story  of  that 
night,  while  Smart  sets  the  shoes  on  that  marvellous  animal." 

Smith  Smart  plied  the  lever  again.  The  forge  began  to  blaze.  Some  new 
shoes  were  dropped  into  the  fire,  and  the  blacksmith  began  to  pare  down  the 
horse's  hoofs  with  his  steel  scraper.  The  horse  was  quite  used  to  these  things, 
and  did  not  move,  except  at  the  will  of  the  smith. 

"  He  is  the  patientest  horse  to  be  shod  that  ever  I  see,"  said  Smart. 
"  Always  was.  I  noticed  that  years  ago.  I  always  thought  that  there  was 
somcthin'  mysterious  about  him." 

The  men  sat  down  on  sooty  benches  and  boxes,  and  Samson  began  his 
strange  story. 

"  Well,  this  is  how  it  was,  this  way,  as  I  remember.  It  was  early  in  March, 
of  a  Tuesday  night.  Wife  began  to  feel  sick  in  the  evening:  chills,  and  fever 
flashes.  Then  she  began  to  have  a  difficulty  of  breathin',  and  I  see  that  she  was 
threatened  with  pneumonia,  and  says  I  to  Minnie,  my  daughter,  'You  bridle 
Jack  and  go  for  the  doctor  as  quick  as  you  can.  'T  is  a  dark  night,  but 
Jack  knows  the  way.  He  's  been  after  the  doctor  in  the  night  before.  Wrap 
up  warm,  and  don't  mind  the  thunder.  It  will  be  cold  when  you  cross  the 
bridge,  so  wrap  up  warm.' 

"  I  had  n't  heard  then  that  the  bridge  had  been  carried  away  by  the  freshet. 
Well,  Minnie,  she  bridled  up  Jack  and  started.  It  was  a  troubled  night;  I 
could  hear  the  wind  in  the  branches  of  the  trees,  and  see  the  clouds  scud  across 
the  half-moon.  The  wind  was  keen,  and  Minnie  drew  the  shawl  over  her  head, 
and  gave  Jack  the  rein,  and  let  him  go. 

"  Well,  when  they  came  to  the  bridge,  or  the  place  where  the  bridge  was, 
Minnie  drew  the  shawl  more  closely  about  her  ears,  and  dropped  the  rein  ; 
and  Jack  walked  right  across  the  river,  carefully  like,  and  Minnie  never  so 
much  as  thought  that  there  was  no  bridge  there,  except  once  during  a  flash 
o'  lightning.  The  water  was  pouring  down  from  the  hills  in  torrents.  There 
hadn't  been  such  a  freshet  for  years.  Minnie  called  the  doctor,  and  returned 
in  the  same  way. 

"  The  doctor  came  late,  and  found  wife  very  sick  ;  and  I  incline  to  think  that 
his  comin'  just  saved  her.  After  givin'  her  medicines,  he  said  to  me,  said  he, 
'  I  should  have  been  here  before,  but  for  the  bridge  being  washed  away.  It  is 
a  bad  road  round.' 

"'The  bridge  washed   away?'  said  I. 
"  '  No,  doctor,'  said  Minnie,  'the  bridge  is  not  washed  away.     I  went  over  it, 
and  came  back  the  same  way.' 


THE    VILLAGE    MYSTERY.  49 

"  '  No,  no,'  said  the  doctor,  said  he,  in  surprise,  '  there  is  no  bridge  over  this 
part  of  the  Contoocook.  You  must  have  been  dreaming,  Minnie.  The  horse 
went  round.' 

"  '  No,  doctor,  I  crossed  the  bridge  direct.  You  will  find  it  so  by  the 
horse's  tracks.  There  was  a  minute  or  two  that  seemed  to  me  kind  o'  strange. 
There  came  a  flash  of  lightning  and  all  around  me  looked  like  water.' 

"  Wife  was  better  in  the  mornin',  and  I  had  to  go  to  the  river.  I  followed 
the  tracks  of  Jack  goin'  and  comin'.  The  horse  certainly  went  to  the  river,  and 
as  Minnie  was  gone  but  half  an  hour,  and  it  would  have  been  an  hour's  hard 
riding  to  have  gone  and  returned  the  other  way,  the  horse  surely  crossed  the 
river. 

"  But  to  make  the  matter  clear  beyond  a  doubt,  Minnie's  scarf  blew  off 
while  crossin'  the  river,  and  we  saw  it  on  the  next  day  at  the  place  that  she 
crossed  on  a  rock  in  the  river.  My  hired  man  found  the  horse's  tracks  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  —  No,  sure  as  preachin',  and  the  stars  above  us,  that 
horse  crossed  the  river  with  Minnie  on  his  back.  It  was  a  supernatural  event 
of  some  kind.  The  horse  crossed  the  bridge,  and  there  was  no  bridge  to 
cross." 

There  was  another  confirmation  to  this  amazing  story,  —  a  rheumatic  old 
woman  living  near  the  river,  who  stood  by  her  window  that  night,  looking  out 
on  the  breaking  clouds.  There  came  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  she  saw  a  white 
horse  with  a  black  rider,  walking  on  the  water  in  the  middle  of  the  river.  She 
said  that  she  had  seen  her  "  death  fetch." 

A  long  silence  followed  the  emphatic  "  there  !  "  of  the  blacksmith.  It  was 
broken  by  the  mathematical  schoolmaster. 

"Will  you  let  me  ride  the  horse  down  to  the  river  after  he  is  shod?  If 
Minnie  could  cross  where  there  is  no  bridge,  I  can." 

"  You  can?  "  exclaimed  a  chorus  of  voices. 

"Just  follow  me,"  he  continued.  "I  think  I  can  show  you  all  how  a  horse 
can  walk  upon  the  water.     What  has  been  done,  can  be  done." 

Mounting  the  horse,  the  schoolmaster  rode  to  the  edge  of  the  swollen  river, 
where  the  old  bridge  had  been.  But  he  did  not  stop  there.  Old  Jack  went  on, 
not  stepping  far  into  the  water,  but  seemingly  walking  upon  it.  Very  care- 
fully went  the  horse,  but  steadily,  as  though  feeling  his  way.  The  men  gazed 
in  wonder. 

"  That  stream  is  ten  feet  deep,"  said  one. 

"  Was  there  ever  such  a  sight  before,  —  a  horse  walking  upon  the  water?" 
said  another. 

When  Jack  reached  the  other  side,  the  old  schoolmaster  turned  his  head, 

4 


50  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

and  waved  his  hat.  He  then  turned  the  horse's  head,  and  the  two  came  back 
again,  like  a  general  and  his  war-steed.  It  was  noticed  that  before  taking  a 
step  forward,  Jack  lifted  high  his  right  fore-foot  and  very  carefully  felt  for  a 
place  on  which  to  rest  it,  as  though  there  were  hard  and  reliable  places  in  the 
gliding  water. 

As  soon  as  the  schoolmaster  returned,  he  clasped  the  horse  around  the 
neck,  and  said,  — 

"  Jack,  you  are  a  good  animal,  and  know  more  than  most  other  people  do." 

The  farmers  began  to  investigate.  They  walked  into  the  river.  They 
found  that  they,  too,  could  walk  upon  the  water.  A  line  ol  posts  covered  by 
wide  strips  of  board  belonging  to  the  old  bridge,  had  not  been  carried  away, 
but  remained  about  half  a  foot  under  the  surface,  the  foaming  current  passing 
over  them. 

"  Time  tells  the  truth  about  all  things,"  repeated  the  schoolmaster,  "  and 
there  are  no  effects  without  causes." 

"  That  was  risky  business,"  said  the  judge. 

It  was  a  very  thoughtful  procession  that  followed  the  trustworthy  old  white 
horse  back  to  the  smithy.  Then  the  old  breadcart  man  came  along,  with  a 
jingle  of  bells,  and  the  judge  bought  five  cakes  of  gingerbread  and  treated  the 
company  at  the  blacksmith's. 

"Cracky!"  continued  the  judge,  philosophically,  "fingers  are  fingers,  and 
thumbs  are  thumbs.  If  we  haven't  a  miraculous  horse,  we  have  a  miraculous 
schoolmaster.     Let  us  be  thankful,  deacon.     What  do  you  say?  " 

And  the  Deacon  said,  "  Amen." 

And  the  bluebirds  sang,  and  the  woodpeckers  pecked,  and  flocks  of  robins 
chorused,  "  Cheer  up,  cheer  up  !  "  in  the  gnarled  old  apple-trees,  and  all  the 
world  went  on  happily,  as  before. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  PLAN  FOR  A  JOURNEY  OF  EDUCATIONAL  TRAVEL. 

The   Places   to   be   visited:    The   City  of   Mexico;    Caracas;    a   Zigzag  Journey 

across  the  Sea  from  Pernambuco  to  Gibraltar;  then  all  the 

Consular  Ports  of  the  Mediterranean. 


KaU.SSjJW'] 

Hi 

iB|| 

HE  journey  began  to  Mexico  and  La  Guayra.  One 
day  in  the  Garden  Mr.  Van  der  Palm  said  to  Percy, 
"  I  have  business  which  will  take  me  to  the  city 
of  Mexico  for  some  months,  and  then  to  Caracas 
for  a  few  weeks.  I  shall  then  go  to  Pernambuco, 
and  thence  sail  on  a  Portuguese  steamer  directly 
for  Lisbon,  stopping  for  a  short  time  at  the  Cape  Verd  Islands  and 
the  Canaries.     Here  is  a  map;  let  me  trace  the  route  with  a  pencil." 

Mr.  Van    der    Palm    slowly   traced   the   route    to    Mexico,    South 
America,  and  Europe. 

"  I  should  think  such  a  journey,"  said  Percy,  "would  be  one  of  the 
most  delightful  in  all  the  world." 

"  It  is.  I  know  the  route  well.  The  valley  of  the  City  of  Mexico 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  North  America,  and  there  are  few 
places  in  the  world  more  beautiful  than  Caracas  and  Valentia  in  the 
Maritime  Andes.  The  sea-route  from  Brazil  to  Portugal  by  way  of 
the  Southern  Islands  is  unequalled  at  the  right  seasons  of  the  year." 
"  You  will  be  gone  a  year  ?  " 
"  Yes." 


54  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

"And    I?" 

"  I  shall  take  you  with  me.  You  will  begin  your  studies  in  educa- 
tional travel  in  the  City  of  Mexico.  You  will  find  it  a  good  place  to 
commence  Latin-America  Spanish.  You  can  continue  the  study  in 
Caracas  and  Valentia;  take  Portuguese  in  Pernambuco,  and  Castilian 
Spanish  at  the  port  of  Gibraltar  and  at  Barcelona.  You  will  be  able 
to  learn  at  these  ports  the  commercial  law  and  usages  of  Spain  and 
Portugal,  and  to  study  the  literature  of  those  countries  in  the 
original  language." 

"  Where  shall  we  go  from  Lisbon  and  the  ports  of  Spain  ?  " 

"  To  all  the  consular  ports  of  the  Mediterranean.  It  will  be  a  zig- 
zag journey,  as  I  shall  not  follow  the  coast  on  either  side,  but  pass 
from  the  port  cities  of  one  coast  to  the  other,  as  my  commission 
directs." 

The  journey  thus  planned  was  at  once  begun.  In  Monterey,  Percy 
spoke  his  first  Buenos  dias,  Seiior;  Felizcs  trades,  Sehora;  Como  lo  pasa, 
nstcd?  In  the  City  of  Mexico  he  began  to  hear,  for  the  first  time, 
those  characteristic  Spanish  words,  in  which  may  be  read  the  decline 
of  the  Latin  empire  in  the  New  World,  —  Hasta  manana  (until 
to-morrow).  Here  he  also  began  to  be  familiar  with  those  terms  of 
elegant  and  deferential  politeness  which  form  a  part  of  all  the  dialogue 
of  Spanish  America  :  Con  nine  ho  gttsta ;  A  los  pics  de  usted,  —  At  the 
feet  of  you  (to  ladies);  and  Beso  a  usted  los  manos,  Caballero, —  I  kiss 
your  hands  (to  gentlemen). 

Here  he  was  not  rudely  asked  to  sit  down  in  cold  business  terms, 
but,  "  Be  pleased  to  sit  down  ;  "  and  he  received  not  one  thank  for  any 
favor  that  he  did,  but  a  thousand,  —  mil gracias. 

Here,  too,  instead  of  the  old  Washington  garden,  he  used  to  go 
out  to  study  on  the  Paseo,  which  we  must  describe  and  picture. 


THE   PASEO.  57 


THE     GOD     OF     FIRE. 


THE   PASEO,  THE   MOST   BEAUTIFUL   STREET   IN   THE 
NEW    WORLD. 

The  Paseo,  from  the  plaza  of  the  City  of  Mexico  to  the  castle  and 
gardens  of  Chapultepec,  is  probably  the  most  beautiful  street  in  the 
New  World.  It  is  certainly  the  most  historic.  It  was  trodden  by 
ancient  monarchs  and  priests  of  the  Sun ;  by  Montezumas,  caciques, 
and  Spanish  viceroys ;  and  now,  at  last,  by  the  people's  presidents. 
Its  history  and  traditions  cover  a  period  of  one  thousand  years,  and  no 
other  street  in  the  New  World  has  such  a  record. 

The  street,  or  boulevard,  or  paseo,  is  some  three  miles  long,  and 
stretches  from  the  place  where  the  great  Mexican  pyramid  once  stood, 
but  where  now  is  the  cathedral  and  official  palace,  to  the  Castle  of 
Chapultepec,  which  was  once  the  famous  Halls  of  the  Montezumas. 
It  is  one  long  procession  of  statuary.  It  might  be  called  the  boulevard 
of  the  Montezumas.  One  leaves  the  grand  plaza,  where  once  the  great 
pyramid  stood,  passes  the  old  palace  of  Iturbicle  (the  first  Mexican 
monarch  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  power),  the  Alemada  (a 
music  park  of  enchanting  beauty),  and  comes  to  two  colossal  statues 
of  Montezumas.      He  is  now  in  the  Paseo  proper.     The  vista  before 


58 


ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  ON   THE   MEDITERRANAEN. 


him  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world.  The  highway  is  lined 
with  Spanish  cypress  and  eucalyptus  trees,  and  is  sentinelled,  as  it  were, 
with  statues  of  heroes.  Around  it  stretch  meadows  of  flowers  and 
alfalfa  grass.  Clarinas  sing  in  the  air,  and  at  the  end  rise  the  white 
porticos  of  Chapultepec,  over  gigantic  trees  and  beautiful  gardens,  and 
shine  down  on  the  city  like  things  of  life  and  joy. 

But  this  is  not  all ;  over  the  white  castle  and  the  gardens  of  giant 
cypresses,  gray  with  mosses  and  crumbling  with  the  shadows  of  centu- 


THE    PRESIDENT  S    PALACE. 


ries,  loom  Popocatapetl  and  Istaccihuatl  like  white  clouds  in  the  sky, 
a  pearly  splendor  of  glistening  snow.  The  first  of  these  dead  volca- 
noes is  higher  than  Mount  Blanc,  or  any  mountains  in  Europe.  One 
may  here  gather  oranges  and  one  hundred  varieties  of  Mexican  roses. 
and  tread  the  alfalfa  meadows,  and  then  glance  upward  to  crystal 
winters  of  the  sky. 


THE    PASEO.  6 1 

The  tourist  who  would  see  the  glory  and  grandeur  of  this  historic 
highway  would  do  well  to  devote  to  it  a  day,  and  to  make  his  first  visit 
to  the  National  Museum,  which  joins  the  palace  in  the  plaza.  Here 
he  will  see  Chae   Mool,  the  Aztec  god  of  fire,  and  the  stone  statue  of 


TOP    OF    SACRIFICIAL    STOXK. 


Death.  The  Aztec  sacrificial  stone  is  here,  and  the  Calendar  Stone. 
A  study  of  the  latter  great  stone  puzzle  will  give  to  his  mind  the  proper 
historical  mood  and  coloring  for  the  three-mile  journey  to  Chapultepec, 
over  which  he  is  to  pass. 

What  is  the  meaning   of   this    mysterious   Calendar  Stone  ?     The 
view  in  Mexico  follows  a  famous  lecture  by  Philip   G.  G.  Valentini, 


62 


ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


published  by  F.  P.  Hoeck,  that  it  was  an  altar  for  human  sacrifices. 
The  learned  archaeologist  thus  interprets  it :  — 

"  I  will,  in  the  first  place,  inform  you  in  what  year,  by  whose 
order,  and  upon  what  particular  festival  occasion  this  stone  disk  was 
first  made. 

"  It  was,  according  to  our  reckoning,  about  the  year  147S,  or  nearly 
four  hundred  years  ago,  and  only  two  years  before  the  death  of  the 
then  reigning  king  of  Mexico,  Axayacatl,  that  he  was  reminded  by 
the  high  priest  of  the  State  of  a  vow  that  he  had  once  made,  who 
spoke  as  follows  (I  will  give  the  long  text  of  the  Indian  writer, 
Tezozomoc,  in  the  fewest  words) :   '"  The  building  of  the  large  sacrificial 


SCULPTURE    ON*    THE    SIDE    OF    THE    SACRIFICIAL    STONE. 

pyramid  which  you  have  undertaken  approaches  its  end.  You  vowed 
to  decorate  it  with  a  beautiful  work,  in  which  the  preserver  of  man- 
kind, Huitzilopochtli,  could  take  pleasure.  Time  presses ,  do  not 
delay  the  work  any  longer."  "  I  think,"  said  the  king,  "  to  replace 
the  sacrificial  stone  which  my  father  once  devoted  to  the  god  of  the 
sun,  with  a  new  one.  Let  that  be  laid  aside,  but  carefully  preserved. 
I  will  give  the  laborers  provisions  and  clothing  that  they  may  select 
the  most  proper  stone  from  the  quarries,  and  I  will  send  the  sculptor 
gold,  cocoa,  and  colored  cloth,  that  he  may  engrave  a  picture  of  the 
sun  as  it  is  surrounded  by  our  other  great  gods."  So  the  workmen 
went  out  and  quarried  the  stone,  laying  it  upon  rollers,  and  fifty  thou- 
sand strong  men  rolled  it  along.      But  as  it  was  upon  the  bridge  of 


THE   PASEO. 


63 


Xoloc,  the  beams  gave  way,  the  bridge  broke  in  pieces,  the  stone  fell 
into  the  water,  and  no  one  dared  to  remove  it  from  the  bottom  of  the 
lake.  Then  the  king  was  angry  and  said,  "  Let  them  build  a  new 
bridge,  with  double  beams  and  planks,  and  bring  a  new  stone  from  the 
quarries  of  Cuyoacan.  Let  them  bring  a  second  stone  here,  out  of 
which  a  trough  may  be  made  to  receive  the  blood  which  flows  as 
expiation   from  the    sacrificial    stone."      When    the   stone    had    been 


THE  CATHEDRAL. 


quarried  and  prepared,  and  had  been  rolled  over  the  bridge  in  good 
condition,  there  was  a  feast  of  joy.  Then  was  the  question  asked, 
How  should  the  immense  stone  be  placed  on  the  pyramid  p  After 
it  was  placed  in  position,  we  read  that  it  was  sunk  in  the  surface  of 
an  altar.  The  altar  is  of  stone,  of  the  height  of  eight  men,  and  of 
the  length  of  twenty  cubits.  Before  it  the  trough  was  placed.  A 
bloody  festival  was  held  for  the  dedication  of  this  sacrificial  slab,  and 


64  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

upon  it  thousands  of  victims  were  slain.  The  king,  as  chief  sacrifice!-, 
on  the  first  day  killed  a  hundred  of  victims  with  his  own  hand,  drank 
of  their  blood,  and  ate  of  their  flesh ;  and  so  arduous  was  his  labor, 
and  so  much  did  he  eat,  that  he  became  sick,  and  soon  after  died.  He 
had  only  time  to  have  his  portrait  sculptured  upon  the  surface  of  the 
rock  of  Chapultepec,  according  to  the  custom  of  Mexican  kings.'  So 
much  for  Tezozomoc's  report. 

"  That  the  sacrificial  stone  here  mentioned  is  the  one  still  extant, 
I  will,  in  addition  to  the  description,  bring  a  still  further  proof.  No 
doubt  this  stone  served  for  all  their  bloody  sacrifices  up  to  the  year 
152 1.  In  that  year  the  Spaniards  captured  the  city;  and  Cortez 
ordered  the  destruction  of  the  entire  pyramid,  and  that  the  canals 
of  the  city  be  filled  with  its  fragments.  Neither  Cortez  nor  Bernal 
Diaz,  nor  any  of  the  chroniclers  of  the  conquerors,  make  mention  of 
the  existence  of  any  such  monument  as  the  afore-described  stone. 
They  did  not  undertake  its  destruction  ;  nay,  they  even  placed  it  in 
the  market-place,  on  exhibition,  where  the  pyramid  once  stood.  This 
we  have  from  a  missionary  chronicler  named  Duran,  between  the 
years  1551  and  1569,  who  says  he  has  always  seen  it  in  the  same  place, 
and  that  there  has  been  so  much  talk  about  it,  among  Spaniards  and 
natives,  that  finally  his  eminence,  the  Bishop  of  Montufar,  took 
umbrage,  and  ordered  its  burial  in  the  place  where  it  stood,  in  order 
that  the  memory  of  the  infamous  actions  that  had  been  perpetrated 
upon  it  might  be  blotted  out.  Until  the  year  1790  no  one  of  the 
many  writers  on  Mexican  antiquities  has  made  the  least  mention  of 
it.  In  that  year  the  repair  of  the  pavement  of  the  market-place  was 
undertaken.  In  a  deep  excavation  the  laborers  struck  a  slab  of  stone 
which  gave  such  a  hollow  sound  from  the  stroke  of  the  iron  that  they 
thought  a  treasure-vault  might  be  concealed  under  it.  When  they 
lifted  the  slab  they  found  no  treasure-vault,  but  were  astonished  when 
they  beheld  on  one  side,  the  spectacle  of  this  incomparable  treasure 
of  ancient  Mexican  art.     The  clergy  wished  it  to  be  again  buried, 


THE  PASEO.  65 

but  the  art-loving  and  liberal  viceroy,  Revillagigedo,  ordered  it  to  be 
exposed.  He  caused  it  to  be  built  in  on  the  southerly  side  of  the 
cathedral,  in  the  ashlar  work  of  one  of  its  towers,  so  that  all  could  see 
it.  Here  it  remained  until  the  year  1S85,  when  it  was  removed  to 
the   National  Museum,  where  it  now  stands. 

"  No  one  had  then  the  least  idea  that  such  a  stone  had  ever 
existed,  or  for  what  purpose  it  might  have  served.  The  archaeologists 
said  at  once  that  it  must  have  some  connection  with  the  worship  of 
the  sun.  They  thought  the  shield  in  the  centre  represented  the 
ancient  sun-god;  and  as  they  found  the  always  well-known  twenty 
pictures  of  the  days  of  the  Mexican  month  engraved  about  in  a  circle, 
they  gave  to  the  disk  the  name  by  which  it  is  still  known,  —  the  Mex- 
ican Calendar  Stone. 

"  The  ancient  Mexicans  had  a  superstition  that  the  sun-god  would 
destroy  the  world  in  the  last  night  of  the  fifty-second  year,  and  that 
he  would  never  come  back.  To  prevail  on  him  to  remain,  they  offered 
to  him  of  their  own  free  will  the  greatest  sacrifices  ;  not  a  human 
life  only,  but  also  on  all  their  hearths,  and  in  all  their  dwellings  and 
temples,  they  extinguished  their  fires.  They  left  it  to  the  goodness  of 
the  god  to  give  them  back  this  element  so  necessary  to  mankind. 
They  broke  all  their  household  furniture;  they  hung  black  masks 
before  their  faces  ;  they  prayed  and  fasted ;  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
last  night  they  formed  a  great  procession  to  a  neighboring  mountain. 
Arriving,  there  is  found  a  man  lying  on  a  circular  stone,  who  gives 
himself  voluntarily  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  god.  Exactly  at  the  midnight 
hour  a  priest  thrust  a  knife  into  his  breast,  tore  out  the  heart,  and 
raised  it  toward  the  starry  heavens  with  uplifted  hands,  while  another 
priest  laid  a  small  round  block  of  dry  soft  wood  upon  the  open  wound, 
and  a  third  priest,  springing  on  the  stone  and  kneeling  over  the  body, 
placed  a  hard  stick  perpendicularly  on  the  block,  which  he  then  with 
his  hands  caused  to  revolve.  This  violent  friction  produced  a  spark, 
which  was  caught  up,  and  was  immediately  carried  to  a  neighboring 

5 


66  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

funeral  pile,  whose  rising  flame  proclaimed  to  the  people  the  promise 
of  the  god  to  delay  for  a  season  the  destruction  of  the  world,  and  to 
grant  to  mankind  a  new  lease  of  fifty-two  years  of  existence." 

This  is  thrilling  history.  The  tourist  may  now  go  out  into  the 
open  air,  under  the  blue  sky,  pass  the  palace,  the  cathedral,  the  flower 
and  bird  market,  and  enter  San  Francisco  Street  on  his  way  to  the 
wonderful  Paseo. 

The  great  cathedral  shines  like  the  sun,  holding  its  great  bells  in 
air.  The  palace  where  the  great  pyramid  once  stood  throngs  with 
bright,  happy  faces.     The  bazaars  are  gay  with  color.     Women  with- 


THE    TOMF.    OF    JUAREZ. 


out  bonnets,  or  any  head  covering,  mingle  with  the  gayly  dressed 
senors ;  and  lazy,  happy  peons,  as  the  poorer  classes  of  Mexicans  are 
called,  sit  in  the  sun  along  the  crowded  way. 

Passing  the  old  palace  of  Iturbide,  now  a  grand  hotel,  one  pauses 
at  the  Alemada,  and  rests  among  the  statues  and  fountains  in  the 
deep  cool  shadows  of  cathedral-like  trees.     Or  perhaps  he  crosses  a 


THE   PASEO. 


69 


street  or  two  beyond  the  Alemada,  and  visits  the  Mexican  garden  of 
the  dead,  called  the  Pantheon,  in  the  shadows  of  the  crumbling  church 
of  San  Fernando.  Here  is  the  pyramidal  tomb  of  Juarez,  hung 
with  wreaths  of  immortelles  from  all  the  Mexican  States,  and  bright 
with  living  flowers.      In  the  chamber  of  the  pyramid  is  the  effigy  of 


STATUE    OF    CHITAAHUAC. 


the  emancipator  of  Mexico  in  white  marble.  It  represents  Juarez  as 
lying  dead  on  the  lap  of  Mexico,  the  face  of  the  goddess  nation  being 
turned  to  the  sun.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  works  of  art  in 
America.  Iturbide  was  the  first  monarch  of  Mexico.  He  threw  off 
the  Spanish  yoke;  but  it  was  Juarez  who  made  the  Indian  races  free 
and  gave  them  the  rights  of  men. 

Entering  the   Paseo  between  the  statues  of  the  Montezumas,  the 
charm  of  the  wonderful  highway  begins.     Before  the  tourist  rises  a 


7o 


ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


most  beautiful  .statue  of  Columbus,  surrounded,  as  it  were,  by  a  court 
of  Montezumas  and  later  heroes.     One  of  these  monuments  is  very 

painful,  but  long  holds  the  eye.  It 
represents  two  Aztec  kings,  chained 
to  blocks  of  stone,  and  being  tortured 
by  the  Spaniards,  who  have  lighted 
slow  fires  under  their  feet  to  make 
them  disclose  their  treasures  of  gold. 
On  one  side  of  the  Paseo  is 
the  ruin  of  a  gigantic  aqueduct  man- 


T11H    PLAZA    AND    LA    MITRA,    MONTEREY. 


tied  with  vines.  The  way  is  lined  with  heavy  stone  seats.  Cool 
trees  wave  above  them.  Out  of  these  shadowy  vistas  one  sees  the 
houses  of  Mexican  officials  and  foreign  ministers,  —  prison-like  look- 


THE   PASEO.  /I 

ing  structures  on  the  outside,  but  beautiful  within,  where  patios  or 
open  courts,  surrounded  by  zulas  or  halls,  stand  open  to  the  sky. 

Chapultepec  glimmers  in  the  distance,  —  a  pile  of  simple  beauty 
that  haunts  one  forever. 

The  castle  and  gardens  of  Chapultepec  !  Who  can  describe  them? 
Their  charm  is  overwhelming,  and  yet  money  did  not  nor  could  not 
create  them.  There  is  poetry  and  sentiment  in  the  air.  The  birds 
sing  of  the  spirit  of  the  place.  One  sits  down  under  the  ancient 
cypresses,  some  of  which  are  fifty  feet  in  circumference,  and  pictures 
the  past.  Here  were  the  halls  of  the  Montezumas ;  here  a  romantic 
viceroy.  Galvez,  lifted  his  white  palace  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  past ; 
here  Carlotta  saw  a  few  happy  clays  ;  and  here  come  the  cantering 
presidents  of  the  last  republic  to  spend  their  summers  !  One  won- 
ders how  the  American  soldiers  ever  scaled  the  walls  of  rock-ribbed 
elevation. 

From  the  airy  porticos  one  looks  clown  upon  the  white  city  burn- 
ing in  pure,  clear  sunlight,  and  up  to  the  mountains  that  glimmer  in 
the  cerulean  splendor  of  the  far  sky,  and  feels  that  this  is  the  throne 
of  beauty  in  the  New  World.  Below  are  the  old  baths  of  the 
Montezumas,  and  close  at  hand  is  the  military  academy.  Clarinas 
sing;  soldiers  without  occupation  march  to  and  fro;  glittering  officers 
on  slick  ponies  and  gay  saddles  disappear  in  the  winding  ways  of  the 
ancient  cypresses  ;  children  plav  about  the  cages  of  native  wild  animals 
in  the  cool  gardens  below,  and  afar  the  air  is  a  melody  of  bells. 

But  the  present  vanishes  from  the  mind.  Here  the  tourist,  be  he 
a  poet  or  not,  dreams.  The  visions  of  Prescott's  history  rise  before 
him.  The  vanished  courts  of  the  Montezumas  glitter  around  him, 
and  in  fancy  he  sees  the  tocalli  smoking  where  the  melodious  city 
now  stands. 

As  he  returns  past  the  orange  sellers,  the  flower-girls,  and  the 
pulque  dealers,  he  is  perhaps  glad  that  the  native  Indian  races  are 
again  masters  of  their  own  country.    Juarez  was  an  Indian;   President 


72  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

Diaz  has  native  blood.  The  Indian  races  in  all  Spanish- American 
countries  are  retrieving  their  ancient  rights,  and  are  seeking  to  put 
education  in  the  place  of  ignorance.  The  influence  of  the  Latin 
conquerors  is  failing  and  departing,  and  the  halls  of  the  viceroys  are 
being  changed  into  seats  of  learning.  In  this  movement,  the  Mexican 
President  leads,  and  the  twentieth  century  will  be  likely  to  find  the 
beautiful  Paseo  of  Mexico  more  glorious  than  in  all  the  eventful  and 
picturesque  centuries  of  the  past. 

After  six  months'  studies  in  Mexico,  under  a  Spanish  teacher,  Percy 
accompanied  his  father  to  Caracas,  whose  port  is  La  Guayra.  At  this 
port  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  genial  Consul  Hanna ;  and  at  the 
window  of  the  consulate  that  looked  out  on  a  narrow  street,  he  listened 
to  many  stories  of  the  Spanish  Main,  one  of  which  we  give  here,  — 
our  first  story  of  a  consulate  :  — 

AN    ESCAPE   FROM    PIRATES.1 

If  a  feeling  of  superstition  with  regard  to  unlucky  vessels  were  ever  pardon- 
able, it  must  surely  have  been  so  in  the  case  of  the  brig  "  Crawford,"  owned 
first  at  Freetown,  Mass.,  and  afterwards  for  many  years  at  Warren,  R.  I. 

It  would  seem  as  if  no  nervous  person,  acquainted  with  her  history,  could 
have  trod  her  decks  in  the  still  midnight  watches  upon  the  ocean,  without  a 
creeping  sensation  of  dread. 

The  writer  has  a  distinct  recollection  of  this  little  full-rigged  brig,  as  a 
vessel  which  figured  prominently  among  the  notable  craft  of  his  boyhood. 
There  were  dark  stains  on  her  deck  which  had  the  appearance  of  iron  rust,  but 
which  all  knew  were  not  iron  rust.  She  had  been  the  scene  of  a  tragedy  that, 
with  its  associations,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  upon  record. 

Her  whaling  voyages  from  Warren,  of  which  she  made  a  number,  were 
all  unfortunate  in  a  pecuniary  sense.  From  one  of  them,  after  an  absence  of 
fourteen  months,  she  returned  without  having  taken  a  drop  of  oil,  —  her  cap- 
tain having  actually  been  obliged  to  purchase  a  supply  for  the  binnacle  lamp 
at  some  foreign  port. 

By  Geo.  H.  Coomer,  in  the  "Household,"  by  permission. 


AN  ESCAPE   FROM   PIRATES.  73 

But  the  one  dreadful  event  of  her  history  had  occurred  while  she  belonged 
to  Freetown.  In  fact,  it  was  chiefly  in  consequence  of  this  that  she  was  sold 
to  her  purchasers  in  Warren,  —  her  original  owners  feeling  that  they  could  no 
longer  bear  to  look  upon  her. 

It  was,  I  think,  about  1829,  that  the  "  Crawford  "  sailed  for  the  West  Indies, 
under  the  command  of  a  Captain  Brightman,  whose  crew  consisted  of  his  two 
mates,  a  cook,  and  three  foremast  hands. 

Her  outward  cargo  was   disposed  of  at  Havana,  and  she  was   nearly  ready 
for  the  homeward   voyage  when   four   Spaniards  came  on  board,  seeking  for  a  l 
passage    to    the    United    States.       They    were    villanous-looking    fellows,   with 
swarthy  faces  and  flashing  black  eyes. 

The  mate  advised  Captain  Brightman  not  to  accept  them,  and  urged  his 
objections  with  some  force.  The  captain  himself  hesitated  at  first;  but  the 
thought  of  the  passage-money  was  too  tempting,  and  he  finally  consented  to 
take  the  strangers  on  board. 

One  of  the  four  passengers  could  speak  English,  but  his  companions  knew 
only  Spanish.  After  the  brig  had  been  at  sea  a  few  days,  the  cook  detected 
this  man,  whose  name  was  Tardy,  in  the  act  of  sprinkling  some  white  substance 
on  a  quantity  of  food  in  the  galley.  Tardy  explained  that  the  article  was  a 
kind  of  seasoning  well  known  in  Cuba,  and  that  he  wished  the  officers  and 
crew  to  try  its  flavor. 

The  cook  scraped  off  as  much  of  it  as  he  could ;  but,  although  the  fact  of 
his  doing  so  shows  that  he  must  have  had  a  suspicion  of  foul  play,  he  unfor- 
tunately did  not  make  known  the  incident  until  too  late.  He  may  have  thought 
that  his  knife  had  removed  all  danger. 

Immediately  after  eating,  the  captain  and  chief  mate  were  taken  violently 
ill.  The  foremast  hands  also  felt  some  bad  effects  from  their  meal,  though  in 
a  less  degree;  but  the  second  mate  escaped,  as  his  duties  on  deck  had  kept 
him  from  eating  with  the  captain.  As  to  the  four  passengers,  they,  of  course, 
had  taken  care  not  to  touch  the  food  on  which  the  white  powder  had  been 
sprinkled. 

It  was  now  that  the  terrified  cook  told  the  mate  what  had  occurred  in  the 
galley.  But  in  a  few  moments  his  voice  was  silenced  forever.  He  was  struck 
down  by  the  murderous  pirates,  who,  seeing  that  their  work  was  but  half  accom- 
plished by  the  poison,  at  once  proceeded  to  complete  it  with  their  knives. 

The  captain  and  chief  mate  they  killed  in  the  cabin ;  the  cook  and  one  of 
the  foremast  hands  were  murdered  close  by  the  windlass,  on  the  forward  part 
of  the  deck ;   while  another  sailor  was  killed  as  he  stood  at  the  wheel. 

Meanwhile,  the  second  mate,  whose   name   was  Durfee,  and   a  man   named 


74  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

Allen  Bicknell,  of  Barrington,  R.  I.,  who  were  now  the  only  survivors,  ran  aloft, 
in  the  forlorn  hope  of  thus  saving  their  lives.  The  pirates  fired  at  Bicknell 
with  pistols,  wounding  him  as  he  stood  in  the  foretop. 

Tardy  now  hailed  the  second  mate,  promising  to  spare  his  life  if  he  would 
come  down,  as  they  required  him  to  navigate  the  vessel.  He  accordingly 
decended,  and  was  not  harmed.  Seeing  the  officer  in  present  safety,  Bicknell, 
the  poor  sailor,  already  wounded,  asked  if  they  would  spare  him  also.  Upon 
receiving  a  reply  in  the  affirmative,  he  came  painfully  down  the  rigging ;  but 
the  moment  he  reached  the  deck  he  was  killed. 

The  vessel  was  now  entirely  in  the  possession  of  these  monsters,  and  the 
feelings  of  Durfee  must  have  been  indescribable,  as  he  realized  the  extent  of 
the  tragedy  and  his  own  dreadful  situation. 

He  knew,  of  course,  that  the  pirates  would  never,  if  they  could  help  it, 
permit  him  to  leave  the  vessel  alive.  It  might  serve  their  purpose  to  spare 
him  for  a  time,  but  unless  he  should  be  able  to  hit  upon  some  manner  of 
deliverance,  the  fate  of  his  shipmates  must  at  last  be  his. 

The  bodies  of  the  victims  were  thrown  into  the  sea,  and  the  four  murder- 
ous scoundrels  then  commenced  searching  the  cabin,  being  apparently  aware 
that  she  had  on  board  a  considerable  amount  of  money.  This  they  brought 
on  deck  and  divided,  all  the  while  talking  rapidly  in  Spanish. 

Tardy  now  informed  the  second  mate  that  the  brig  must  be  taken  to  South 
America.  Durfee  well  knew  that  should  he  carry  the  wretches  to  that  part  of 
the  world,  his  own  doom  would  be  sealed  the  moment  they  reached  its  shores. 
He  sought  for  some  excuse  to  land  elsewhere  and  fortunately  found  one. 

"  I  can  take  you  to  South  America,"  he  said,  "  but  for  such  a  voyage  we 
must  have  more  water.  We  have  only  enough  to  last  for  a  short  time,  and  we 
may  be  sixty  or  seventy  days  on  the  passage." 

Tardy  uttered  a  Spanish  oath  or  two,  and  then  asked  if  a  supply  could  not 
be  obtained  by  entering  some  inlet  of  the  coast  where  there  would  be  no 
danger  of  capture. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Durfee,  glad  that  the  pirate  had  anticipated  a  proposition 
which  he  himself  had  intended  to  make.  "  We  could  run  in  at  night  and  get 
out  before  morning.  Then  we  should  be  all  ready  for  a  voyage  to  South 
America  or  anywhere  else." 

Tardy  flourished  his  knife  fiercely  before  the  face  of  his  helpless  prisoner, 
thus  indicating  what  would  be  done  in  case  of  the  least  attempt  at  deception. 
Durfee's  nerves  had  already  suffered  terribly,  and  it  was  only  by  the  greatest 
effort  that  he  could  maintain  anything  like  an  appearance  of  calmness. 

Hastily   running  over   in  his  thoughts  the  various    inlets    of  the   coast,  he 


AN  ESCAPE    FROM   PIRATES.  77 

resolved  upon  making  for  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  was  far,  however,  from  telling 
the  pirates  of  his  decision,  but  led  them  to  suppose  that  the  destination  was 
some  obscure  nook  among  islands  and  promontories.  It  was  fortunate  for  him 
that  they  knew  nothing  whatever  of  the  coast,  and  were  ignorant  even  of  the 
existence  of  the  wide  water  sheet  which  he  had  in  mind. 

He  used  to  relate  that  while  the  vessel  was  running  on  the  course  he  had 
chosen,  and  he  was  filled  with  the  most  dreadful  anxiety  lest  his  plans  should, 
after  all,  miscarry,  Tardy  would  come  to  him,  and  with  oaths,  boast  of  the 
murders  he   had  committed. 

Great  was  Durfee's  anxiety  as  the  brig  made  the  land.  Soon  his  fate  would 
be  decided.  He  thought  with  a  sickening  sensation  of  the  pirates'  threats,  but 
he  thought,  too,  of  the  fort  at  Old  Point  Comfort;  and  upon  this  his  hope 
rested.  It  must,  of  course,  be  approached  at  night;  and  luckily  the  Spaniards 
were  as  anxious  for  the  cover  of  darkness  as  was  he  himself,  so  that  he  was 
permitted  to  keep  off  shore  until  past  sunset. 

Then  the  little  brig  stood  in  under  all  sail.  With  a  fine  breeze  she  passed 
Cape  Henry,  and  continued  her  course  up  the  bay.  It  was  for  Durfee  an  hour 
of  unspeakable  suspense.  At  any  moment  the  pirates  might  take  alarm,  and 
he  felt  almost  a  surprise  to  find  that  they  did  not  do  so.  Here  and  there 
could  be  seen  distant  lights,  but  the  shores  were  hidden  in  darkness,  and  the 
evil-eyed  wretches,  war)-  as  they  were,  seemed  not  to  suspect  treachery. 

Being  for  the  time  in  command,  as  navigator  and  pilot,  the  anxious  officer 
was  at  the  wheel,  while  his  unwelcome  companions  stood  ready  to  shorten  sail 
and  let  go  the  anchor  at  his  bidding.  It  may  well  be  imagined  that  he 
measured  with  every  nerve  alert  each  inch  of  the  way. 

The  brig's  yawl  hung  at  the  stern  davits.  He  had  made  sure  that  its  tackles 
were  in  running  order.  How  near  to  the  fort  would  he  dare  to  approach  before 
bringing  the  brig  to? 

Presently  he  directed  his  dangerous  crew  to  take  in  the  light  sails  and  the 
courses.     Tardy  repeated  the  order  in  Spanish,  and  it  was  obeyed. 

"  Let  go  the  topsail  halyards,"  was  the  next  command;  and  down  came  the 
top-sail  yards  upon  the  caps. 

Clearing  his  throat  for  another  effort,  Durfee  felt  that  his  heart-throbs  were 
almost  suffocating.     Nevertheless,  he  was  able  to  command  his  voice. 

"  Stand  by  to  let  go  anchor  !  "  he  cried,  feeling  that  in  another  moment  he 
would  know  his  fate.     The  four  pirates  ran  to  the  windlass. 

"  Let  go  ! 

There  was  a  splash  under  the  bow,  and  a  swift  paying  out  of  the  cable. 
Just  then  Durfee  sprang  over  the  taft'rail  and  into  the  boat,  lowering  it  instantly. 


78  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

and  with  a  violent  push  sent  it  spinning  from  under  the  brig's  counter;  then, 
seizing  an  oar,  he  commenced  sculling  with  all  his  might.  As  he  did  so,  he 
heard  the  Spaniards  rushing  aft,  but  they  were  too  late  to  get  more  than  a 
glimpse  of  him  in  the  darkness. 

The  grim  fortress  at  Old  Point  Comfort  was  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant. 
Durfee's  calls  drew  the  attention  of  the  sentries,  and  in  a  few  minutes  there 
were  lights  gleaming  from  a  row  of  port-holes,  with  the  black  muzzles  of  cannon 
looking  threateningly  forth  into  the  darkness,  and  a  dozen  soldiers  were  at  once 
ordered  to  board  the  vessel.  On  reaching  her,  they  found  only  three  of  the 
pirates  on  deck.  These  were  at  once  made  prisoners.  Hurrying  into  the 
cabin,  they  found  Tardy  lying  dead  upon  the  floor.  Struck  with  despair  at 
the  impossibility  of  escape,  he  had  chosen  to  die  by  his  own  hand  rather  than 
to  await  the  inevitable  halter. 

His  three  accomplices  were  tried  and  hanged  at  Norfolk.  They  died  pro- 
testing their  innocence,  and  declaring  that  the  entire  guilt  rested  upon  their 
dead  confederate. 

As  to  poor  Durfee,  the  second  mate,  after  the  dreadful  scenes  he  had  passed 
through,  he  was  never  really  himself.  His  nervous  system  had  been  thoroughly 
shattered. 

Who  can  wonder  that  painful  thoughts  were  always  associated  with  the 
"  Crawford,"  or  that  a  gloom  should  seem  to  invest  even  the  old  Warren  wharf 
where  she  used  to  lie? 


CHAPTER    IV. 

CARACAS    ON  THE   FIRST   DAY   OF   THE    REVOLUTION,    1S92.— 
AMUSEMENTS   AT   SEA. 

ERCY  was  in  Caracas  on  the  first  day  of  the  last 
revolution,  when  President  Palacio  issued  his  proc- 
lamation that  made  the  revolution  inevitable. 
Percy  will  never  forget  that  scene  as  he  stood  in 
the  plaza  of  Bolivar. 

It  was  a  bright  March  day,  and  the  circle  of 
hills  —  a  part  of  the  "  thousand  hills  "  of  the  Caraci  —  shone  serenely 
in  the  clear  purple  sky.  It  is  eternal  springtime  here.  The  port  of 
Caracas,  La  Guayra,  three  thousand  feet  below,  is  one  of  the  hottest 
cities  in  the  three  Americas,  but  the  capital  is  cooled  by  its  altitude. 
Caracas  stands  on  a  plateau  or  valley  in  the  maritime  range  of 
the  Andes,  which  here  rise  to  a  height  of  nearlv  ten  thousand  feet ; 
and  the  city  itself  is  three  thousand  feet  above  its  port  and  the  sea. 
It  has  a  most  romantic  history,  being  associated  with  the  names  of 
the  early  discoverers,  —  with  Drake,  Raleigh,  and  the  poetic  cavalier, 
Ponce  de    Leon. 

Percy  and  his  father  had  been  wandering  about  the  beautiful  city, 
among  the  crowds  that  stood  telling  each  other  with  terribly  serious 
faces  that  great  political  events  were  at  hand.  They  had  seen  the 
solitary  church  that  survived  the  great  earthquake  nearly  a.  hundred 
years  ago,  and  had  wondered  how  the  worshippers  in  that  church 
must  have  felt  on  that  eventful  Saint's  day,  when  they  rushed  to 
the  doors,  to  find  that  all  the  other  churches  and  houses  had  gone 
down,  and  twelve  thousand  people  had  perished  !     Every  tourist  who 


So 


ZIGZAG    JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


is  familiar  with  history  sees  in  fancy  that  scene.  They  had  been  to 
Calvario,  or  Calvary  Hill,  where  Guzman  Blanco,  Venezuela's  ambi- 
tious ex-president,  had  made  a  park,  as  it  were,  in  the  sky,  and  placed 
his  own  statue  upon  it,  —  which  was  erected  too  soon,  for  the  people 
forced  him  into  exile  and  tore  it  down. 


On  returning  from  the  long  walk  they  found  the  plaza  and  all  the 
public  squares  filled  with  excited  people.  They  sat  down  in  the  plaza 
near  the  statue  of  Bolivar. 

The  statue  is  a  wonder,  and  commemorates  the  deeds  of  a  most 


I 

I 


CARACAS  ON  THE  FIRST  DAY  OF   THE  REVOLUTION,  1893.         S3 

wonderful  man.  It  was  made  in  Germany,  is  equestrian,  and  to  the 
imagination,  the  horse  of  brass  seems  to  have  leaped  proudly  into  the 
air,  leaving  the  hero  in  a  most  gracious  attitude  in  his  saddle  to  face 
the  people  he  had  liberated.  It  is  the  pride  of  Caracas,  as  well  it 
may  be,  and  one  of  the  marvellous  creations  of  art  in  the  world. 


STATUE    OF    BOLIVAR.    CARACAS. 


The  guards  came  out  of  the  military  palace  in  front  of  the  plaza. 
The  press  began  to  issue  copies  of  the  President's  manifesto,  and  the 
newsboys  to  sell  them  on  the  street.  Every  one  knew  what  it  was,  but 
desired  to  read  it  with  his  own  eyes.  His  own  life  and  destiny  might 
be  involved  in  it. 

Every  copy  was  eagerly  seized  as  it  came  out  from  the  press,  and 
was  read  with  staring  eyes,  and  passed  on  to  others. 


84  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  It  means  war"  was  the  one  short  sentence  that  passed  from  lip  to 
lip.  In  many  cases  those  three  words  covered  the  thought,  "  It  means 
me ! "     The  Venezuelan  well  knows  the  meaning  of  a  revolution. 

The  political  situation  may  be  briefly  stated.      President  Palacio 
desired  a  re-election  by   the    House  of   Deputies.     He   saw  that   he 
would  fail   to  secure  it,  and  imprisoned  certain   of  the  deputies  for 
political  reasons ;    but  it  was  popularly  believed  it  was  a 
subterfuge  that  there  might  be  left  no  quorum,  and  that  he 
might  thus  have  an  excuse  for  con- 
tinuing in  office,  in   default  of  an 
election.     He  thus  assumed  dictato- 
rial powers,  in  the  name  and  in  the 
interest  of  the  liberal  party  which 
had  done   so  much  for  Venezuela. 
The  Supreme   Court    declared   his 
course  illegal,  and  he  imprisoned 
the  judges.      The  country 
rose    against 
him;  and  Ca- 
racas,the  cap- 
ital, found  it- 
self in  a  state 
of  siege. 

The  shad- 
ows of  the 
high     Andes 

began  to  fall  upon  the  valleys  and  the  green  palms  and  coffee  plan- 
tations of  La  Guayra.  The  top  of  Calvary  Hill  flashed  in  the  paling 
sun.  The  plaza  and  streets  were  black  with  men,  each  holding  in 
his  hand  the  white  sheet  of  the  manifesto. 

The  bells  rang,  —  it  was  Lent,  —  and  half-veiled  women  pushed 
their  way  through  the  excited  crowds  to  the  golden  churches. 


a  vouthfui    r,i:r;<,  \n  of  Caracas. 


CARACAS  ON  THE   FIRST  DAY  OF   THE   REVOLUTION,  1892. 


S5 


It  was  not  a  noisy,  but  a  silent  crowd.  There  was  an  expression 
of  inquiry  in  every  dark  face.  It  was  like  those  days  of  our  own  war, 
when  President  Lincoln's  proclamation  made  the  pulses  of  great  cities 
to  stand  still.  There  was  an  awful  silence  in  those  crowds,  and  the 
same  was  here. 

A  Venezuelan  was  with  our  travellers.  He  owned  an  estate  in 
the  interior,  twenty-four  miles  square,  as   large   as   a  province.     His 


AXCIENT    HOUSE    IX    CARACAS. 

brother  had  been  killed  in  a  former  revolution,  and  he  had  lived  much 
in  Europe  and  could  speak  English  well. 

He  turned  his  face  toward  the  grand  statue  of  Bolivar,  that  looked 
like  a  thing  of  life  in  the  sunset  of  the  Andes.  He  did  not  talk 
politics.  No  one  did.  He  simply  said, "  They  offered  Simon  Bolivar 
the  crown,  and  he  answered  them  :    '  I  have  achieved  the  liberation  of 


86  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

five  countries.  That  is  all  the  honor  I  desire ! '  His  heart  is  in  the 
cathedral  of  Santa  Martha,  and  his  dust  is  in  yonder  Parthenon.  I 
would  that  his  spirit  were  here  !" 

From  Caracas,  Percy  sailed  for  Pernambuco.  He  was  now  in  the 
seas  of  the  great  American  discoverers. 

'•The  years  roll  back  —  we  see  again 
Thy  fleet,  Columbus,  dare  the  main, 
Upborne  by  Faith,  till  rises  fair 
The  new  world  in  prophetic  air  ! 
The  mighty  waves  yield  to  thy  prow ; 
The  stormy  heavens  before  thee  bow. 
The  sun  stands  still,  and  earth  appears 
A  wheeling  star  'mid  circling  spheres  ! 

"Then  Science  rose  ;  then  Learning  woke  ; 
And  Freedom's  voice  to  heroes  spoke  ; 
And  Progress  broke  the  chains  of  time, 
And  upward  marched  to  heights  sublime. 
No  day  like  this  'neath  purple  skies 
E'er  met  expectant  prophets'  eyes  ; 
The  drums  of  peace  the  roll-call  beat, 
And  nations  pass  on  children's  feet  ! 

"  O  Star  of  Faith,  that  led  afar 
Columbus,  'neath  the  Hesperian  Star, 
Shine  on  the  world's  new  march,  and  light 
Hope's  aspirations  for  the  right  ' 
Achievement  waits  yet  bolder  keels 
Than  broke  the  waves  of  old  Antilles, 
The  unattained  to  find  and  prove 
In  virtue,  brotherhood,  and  love  !  " 

THE    CONSULAR   FLAG. 

"  I  keep  the  flag  of  my  country  always  waving,"  said  Consul  Hanna 
of  La  Guayra.  Percy  looked  upon  that  flag  as  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful objects  in  the  narrow  streets.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
objects  in  the  world. 

"  Do  all  consuls  fly  the  American  flag  daily?  "  asked  Percy  of  his 
father  at  the  beginning  of  his  voyage  towards  the  islands  of  the  Canary 
birds. 


CARACAS   ON   THE  FIRST  DAY  OF   THE  REVOLUTION,  1892. 


37 


"Consuls,"  said  his  father,  "have  no  claim  to  an}'  foreign  ceremo- 
nial, but  they  may  glory  in  the  flag.  The  consular  regulations  as 
issued  from  the  State  Department  are  something  like  this :  — 

"  '  The  consuls  have  a  right  to  the  private  use  of 'the  flag,  and  the  right  to 
place  the  national  arms  and  the  name  of  the  consulate  on  the  offices  is  given  by 
treaties  with  Austria-Hungary,  Italy,  and  the  Netherlands  (and  colonies);   on 


GRAND    OPERA    HOUSE,   CARACAS 


their  offices  or  dwellings  by  treaty  with  Belgium  and  Germany;  the  right  to 
place  the  national  flag  on  their  dwellings,  except  where  there  is  a  legation,  by 
treaties  with  Austria-Hungary,  Belgium,  German}-,  Roumania,  and  Serbia  ;  the 
right  to  place  the  arms,  name,  and  flag  on  their  offices  or  dwellings  by  treaties 
with  France  and  Salvador :  and  the  right  to  place  the  name  and  flag  on  their 
dwellings  by  treaty  with  Colombia.' 

"And,"  added  Mr.  Van  der  Palm,  "the  consular  office  in  some  coun- 
tries, like  the  old  Hebrew  cities  of  refuge,  is  practically  inviolable. 


S8  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  To  quote  the  instructions  :  — 

"  '  This  inviolability  of  office  and  dwelling  is  secured  by  treaties  with  Bel- 
gium, Bolivia,  Corea,  France,  Germany  (of  consuls  not  citizens  ),  Italy,  Morocco, 
Muscat,  Roumania,  Salvador,  and  Serbia;    but  the  dwelling  cannot  be  used  as 


A    DONKEY    CAR,    CARACAS. 

an  asylum.  It  is  agreed  with  Colombia  that  the  persons  and  dwellings  of  con- 
suls are  to  be  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  except  as  specially  exempted 
by  treaty.  The  consulates  in  Germany  are  not  to  be  made  asylums  for  the 
subjects  of  other  powers.'  " 

He    added,    still    quoting    the    consular    instructions    of    the    State 
Department :  — 

"  '  By  convention  with  Belgium,  Germany,  Netherlands,  Roumania,  Serbia 
and  Italy,  the  consul  is  exempted  from  arrest,  except  for  crimes.  By  treaty  with 
Turkey  he  is  entitled  to  suitable  distinction  and  necessary  aid  and  protection. 
In    Muscat    he   enjoys   the   inviolability  of  a  diplomatic   officer.     In   Austria- 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  89 

Hungary  and  France  he  is  to  enjoy  personal  immunities;  but  in  France,  if  a 
citizen  of  France,  or  owning  property  there,  or  engaged  in  commerce,  he  can 
claim  only  the  immunities  granted  to  other  citizens  of  the  country  who  own 
property,  or  to  merchants.  In  Austria-Hungary  and  Roumania,  if  engaged  in 
business,  he  can  be  detained  only  for  commercial  debts.  In  Colombia,  the 
fourteen  consuls  of  the  United  States  have  no  diplomatic  character.  In  Great 
Britain,  Liberia,  Netherlands  (as  to  colonies),  Nicaragua,  and  Paraguay  they  are 
regarded  as  appointed  for  the  protection  of  trade.' 

•'  So  you  see  that  a  consul  in  his  little  office  somewhat  resembles 
the  old  Roman  officer  of  that  name.  He  has  a  little  republic  of  his 
own." 

Percy  began  to  study  Portuguese  stories  and  poems  on  the  ship, 
which  belonged  to  Lisbon.  One  of  these  stories,  which  we  quote,  we 
found  very  curious.  We  give  the  version  that  we  find  in  English 
Folk-Lore :  — 

THE   SEVEN    IRON   SLIPPERS. 

(  From  Portuguese  Folk-Tales,  by  Consiglieri  Pedroso.) 

There  lived  once  together  a  king  and  a  queen,  and  a  princess  who  was  their 
daughter.  The  princess  had  worn  out  every  evening  seven  pair  of  slippers 
made  of  iron  ;  and  the  king  could  not  make  out  how  that  could  be,  though 
he  was  always  trying  to  find  out.  The  king  at  last  issued  a  decree  that  who- 
soever should  be  able  to  find  out  how  the  princess  managed  to  wear  out  seven 
pairs  of  slippers  made  of  iron  in  the  short  space  of  time  between  morning  and 
evening,  he  would  give  the  princess  in  marriage  if  he  were  a  man,  and  if  a 
woman  he  would  marry  her  to  a  prince. 

It  happened  that  a  soldier  was  walking  along  an  open  country  road,  carry- 
ing on  his  back  a  sack  of  oranges,  and  he  saw  two  men  fighting  and  giving 
each  other  great  blows. 

The  soldier  went  up  to  them  and  asked  them,  "  O  men,  why  are  you 
giving  each  other  such  blows?" 

"  Why,  indeed  should  it  be  !  "  they  replied.  "  Because  our  father  is  dead  ; 
and  he  has  left  us  this  cap,  and  we  both  wish  to  possess  it." 

"  Is  it  possible  that  for  the  sake  of  a  cap  you  should  be  fighting?  "  inquired 
the  soldier. 


90  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

The  men  then  said,  "  The  reason  is  that  this  cap  has  a  charm,  and  if  any 
one  puts  it  on  and  says,  '  Cap,  cover  me  so  that  no  one  shall  see  me !  '  no  one 
can  see  us." 

The  soldier  upon  hearing  this  said  to  them,  "  I  '11  tell  you  what  I  can  do 
for  you  ;  you  let  me  remain  here  with  the  cap  whilst  I  throw  this  orange  to  a 
great  distance,  and  you  run  after  it,  and  the  one  that  shall  pick  it  up  first 
shall  be  the  possessor  of  the  cap." 

The  men  agreed  to  this,  and  the  soldier  threw  the  orange  to  a  great  dis- 
tance, as  far  as  he  possibly  could,  whilst  the  men  both  ran  to  pick  it  up- 
Here  the  soldier,  without  loss  of  time,  put  on  the  cap,  saying,  "  Cap,  make  me 
invisible  !  " 

When  the  men  returned  with  the  orange  they  could  see  nothing  and  nobody. 
The  soldier  went  away  with  the  cap,  and  further  on  he  met  on  his  road  two 
other  men  fighting,  and  he  said  to  them,  "  O  foolish  men,  why  do  you  give 
each  other  such  blows?  " 

The  men  replied,  "  Indeed,  you  may  well  ask  why,  if  it  were  not  that 
father  died  and  left  us  this  pair  of  boots,  and  we  each  of  us  wish  to  be  the 
sole  possessor  of  them." 

The  soldier  replied,  "  Is  it  possible  that  for  the  matter  of  a  pair  of  boots 
you  should  be  fighting  thus?  " 

And  they  replying  said,  "  It  is  because  these  boots  are  charmed,  and 
when  one  wishes  to  go  any  distance  he  has  only  to  say,  '  Boots,  take  me  here 
or  there,'  wherever  one  should  wish  to  go,  and  instantly  they  convey  one  to 
any  place." 

The  soldier  said  to  them,  "I  will  tell  }-ou  what  to  do ;  I  will  throw  an 
orange  to  a  great  distance,  and  you  give  me  the  boots  to  keep.  You  run  for 
the  orange,  and  the  first  that  shall  pick  it  up  shall  have  the  pair  of  boots." 

He  threw  the  orange  to  a  great  distance,  and  both  men  ran  to  catch  it. 
Upon  this  the  soldier  said,  "  Cap,  make  me  invisible,  boots  take  me  to  the 
city ;  "  and  when  the  men  returned  they  missed  the  boots  and  the  soldier,  for 
he  had  gone  away. 

He  arrived  at  the  capital  and  heard  the  decree  read  which  the  king  had 
promulgated,  and  he  began  to  consider  what  he  had  better  do  in  this  case. 
"  With  this  cap,  and  with  these  boots,  I  can  surely  find  out  what  the  princess 
does  to  wear  out  seven  pairs  of  slippers  made  of  iron  in  one  night." 

He  went  and  presented  himself  at  the  palace.  When  the  king  saw  him  he 
said,  "  Do  you  really  know  amy  of  finding  out  how  the  princess,  my  daughter, 
can  wear  out  seven  pairs  of  slippers  in  one  night?" 

The  soldier  replied,  "  I  only  ask  you  to  let  me  try  — " 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  9  I 

"  But  you  must  remember,"  said  the  king,  "  that  if  at  the  end  of  three  days 
you  have  not  found  out  the  mystery,  I  shall  order  you  to  be  put  to  death." 

The  soldier  to  this  replied  that  he  was  prepared  to  take  the  consequences. 
The  king  ordered  him  to  remain  in  the  palace.  Every  attention  was  paid  to 
all  his  wants  and  wishes  ;  he  had  his  meals  with  the  king  at  the  same  table,  and 
slept  in  the  princess's  room. 

But  what  did  the  princess  do?  She  took  him  a  beverage  to  his  bedside 
and  gave  it  to  him  to  drink.  This  beverage  was  a  sleeping-draught,  which 
she  gave  him  to  make  him  sleep  all  night. 

Next  morning  the  soldier  had  not  seen  the  princess  do  anything,  for  he 
had  slept  very  soundly  the  whole  night.  When  he  appeared  at  breakfast  the 
king  asked  him,  "  Well,  did  you  see  anything?  " 

"  Your  Majesty  must  know  that  I  have  seen  nothing  whatever." 

"  The  king  said,  "  Look  well  what  you  are  at,  for  now  there  only  remains 
two  days  more  for  you,  or  else  you  die !  " 

The  soldier  replied,  "  I  have  not  the  least  misgivings." 

Night  came  on  and  the  princess  acted  as  before.  Next  morning  the  king 
asked  him  again  at  breakfast,  "  Well,  did  you  see  anything  last  night?  " 

The  soldier  replied,  "  Your  Majesty  must  know  that  I  have  seen  nothing 
whatever." 

"  Be  careful,  then,  what  you  do.     Only  one  day  more,  and  you  die  !  " 

The  soldier  replied,  "  I  have  no  misgivings." 

He  then  began  to  think  it  over.  "  It  is  very  curious  that  I  should  sleep  all 
night.  It  cannot  be  from  anything  else  but  from  drinking  the  beverage  which 
the  princess  gives  me.  Leave  me  alone  !  I  know  what  I  will  do.  When  the 
princess  brings  me  the  cup  I  shall  pretend  to  drink,  but  shall  throw  away  the 
beverage." 

The  night  came,  and  the  princess  did  not  fail  to  bring  him  the  beverage 
to  drink  to  his  bedside.  The  soldier  made  a  pretence  to  drink  it,  but  instead 
threw  it  away,  and  feigned  sleep  though  he  was  awake. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  he  saw  the  princess  rise  up,  prepare  to  go  out, 
and  advance  towards  the  door  to  leave.  What  did  he  do  then?  He  put  on 
the  cap,  drew  on  the  boots,  and  said,  "  Cap,  make  me  invisible;  boots,  take  me 
wherever  the  princess  goes." 

The  princess  entered  a  carriage,  and  the  soldier  followed  her  into  the 
carriage  and  accompanied  her.  He  saw  the  carriage  stop  at  the  seashore. 
The  princess  then  embarked  on  board  a  vessel  decked  with  flags.  The 
soldier  on  seeing  this,  said,  "  Cap,  cover  me,  that  I  may  be  invisible,"  and 
embarked  with  the  princess.     She  reached  the  lands  of  giants ;    and  when  on 


92  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

passing  the  first  sentinel,  he  challenged  her  with,  "  Who  's  there?"  "The 
Princess  of  Harmony,"  she  replied.  The  sentinel  rejoined,  "  Pass  with  your 
suite." 

The  princess  looked  behind  her,  and  not  seeing  any  one  following  her,  she 
said  to  herself,  "The  sentinel  cannot  be  in  his  sound  mind;  he  said  '  Tass  with 
your  suite;  '   I  do  not  see  any  one." 

She  reached  the  second  sentinel,  who  cried  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
"Who's  there?"  "The  Princess  of  Harmony,"  replied  the  princess.  "Pass 
with  your  suite,"  said  the  sentinel.  The  princess  was  each  time  more  and 
more  astonished. 

She  came  to  the  third  sentinel,  who  challenged  her  as  the  others  had  done, 
"Who's  there?"  "The  Princess  of  Harmony."  "Pass  on  with  your  suite," 
rejoined  the  sentinel.  The  princess,  as  before,  wondered  what  the  man  could 
mean. 

After  journeying  for  a  long  time  the  soldier,  who  followed  her  closely,  saw 
the  princess  arrive  at  a  beautiful  palace,  enter  in,  and  go  into  a  hall  for  dancings 
where  he  saw  many  giants. 

The  princess  sat  upon  a  seat  by  the  side  of  her  lover  who  was  a  giant. 
The  soldier  hid  himself  under  their  seat.  The  band  struck  up,  and  she  rose- 
to  dance  with  the  giant,  and  when  she  finished  the  dance  she  had  her  iron 
slippers  all  in  pieces.  She  took  them  off  and  pushed  them  under  her  seat. 
The  soldier  immediately  took  possession  of  them  and  put  them  inside  his 
sack.  The  princess  again  sat  down  to  converse  with  her  lover.  The  band 
again  struck  up  some  dance  music,  and  the  princess  rose  to  dance.  When  she 
finished  this  dance  another  pair  of  her  slippers  had  worn  out.  She  took  them 
off  and  left  them  under  her  seat.     The  soldier  put  these  also  into  his  sack. 

Finally,  she  danced  seven  times,  and  each  time  she  danced  she  tore  a  pair 
of  slippers  made  of  iron.     The  soldier  kept  them  all  in  his  sack. 

After  the  ball  the  princess  sat  down  to  converse  with  her  lover ;  and  what 
did  the  soldier  do?  He  turned  their  chairs  over  and  threw  them  both  on  the 
middle  of  the  floor.  They  were  very  much  surprised,  and  they  searched  every- 
where and  through  all  the  houses  and  could  find  no  one.  The  giants  then 
looked  out  for  a  book  of  facts  they  had,  wherein  could  be  seen  the  course  of 
the  winds  and  other  agencies  peculiar  to  their  race.  They  called  in  a  black 
servant  to  read  in  the  book  and  find  out  what  was  the  matter. 

The  soldier  rose  up  from  where  he  was  and  said,  "  Cap,  make  me  invisible." 
He  then  gave  the  negro  a  slap  on  the  face;  the  negro  fell  to  the  ground,  while- 
he  took  possession  of  the  book  and  kept  it.  The  time  was  approaching  when 
the  princess  must  depart  and  return  home ;  and  not  being  able  to  stay  lon- 
ger, she  went  away. 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  93 

The  soldier  followed  her,  and  she  returned  by  the  same  way  she  came. 
She  went  on  board  ;  and  when  she  reached  the  city,  the  carriage  was  already 
waiting  for  her.  The  soldier  then  said,  "Boots,  take  me  to  the  palace;  "  and 
he  arrived  there,  took  oft"  his  clothes,  and  went  to  bed. 

When  the  princess  arrived  she  found  everything  in  her  chamber  just  as  she 
left  it,  and  even  found  the  soldier  fast  asleep.  In  the  morning  the  king  said, 
"  Well,  soldier,  did  you  see  anything  remarkable  last  night?  " 

"  Be  it  known  to  your  Majesty  that  I  saw  nothing  whatever  last  night," 
replied  the  soldier. 

The  king  then  said,  "  According  to  what  you  say,  I  do  not  know  if  you  are 
aware  that  you  must  die  to-day." 

The  soldier  replied,  "  If  it  is  so  I  must  have  patience,  what  else  can  I 
do?" 

When  the  princess  heard  this  she  rejoiced  much.  The  king  then  ordered 
that  everything  for  the  execution  should  be  prepared  before  the  palace 
windows. 

When  the  soldier  was  proceeding  to  execution  he  asked  the  king  to  grant 
him  a  favor  for  the  last  time,  and  to  send  for  the  princess  so  that  she  should 
be  present. 

The  king  gave  the  desired  permission,  and  the  princess  was  present  when 
he  said  to  her,  "Is  it  not  true  to  say  that  the  princess  went  out  at  mid- 
night?" 

"  It  is  not  true,"  replied  the  princess. 

"Is  it  true  to  say,"  again  asked  the  soldier,  "that  the  princess  entered  a 
carriage,  and  afterwards  went  on  board  a  vessel  and  proceeded  to  a  ball  given 
in  the  kingdom  of  the  giants?" 

"  It  is  not  true." 

The  soldier  yet  asked  her  another  question,  "  Is  it  true  that  the  princess 
wore  out  seven  pairs  of  iron  slippers  during  the  seven  times  she  danced?  Then 
he  shewed  her  the  slippers. 

"  There  is  no  truth  in  all  this,"  replied  the  princess. 

The  soldier  at  last  said  to  her,  "  Is  it  true  to  say  that  the  princess  at  the  end 
of  the  ball  fell  on  the  floor  from  her  seat,  and  the  giants  had  a  book  brought  to 
them  to  see  what  bewitchery  and  magic  pervaded  and  had  taken  possession  of 
the  house,  and  which  book  is  here?" 

The  princess  now  said,  "  It  is  so." 

The  king  was  delighted  at  the  discovery  and  happy  ending  of  this  affair,  and 
the  soldier  came  to  live  in  the  palace  and  married  the  princess. 


9+  ZIGZAG  JOUR.XEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

The  voyage  to  the  volcanic  Cape  Verd  Islands  was  a  delightful 
one,  over  the  smooth  waters  of  tropical  seas.  The  stars  of  the  South- 
ern Cross  gleamed  over  the  waters ;  the  nights  were  clear,  cool,  and 
refreshing ;   the  days,  long  splendors. 

There  were  on  board  English,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese,  some 
forty  in  number.  Time  at  last  hung  heavily,  and  Percy  was  sought 
for  diversions.  He  found  himself  able  to  speak  Spanish  well,  and  he 
introduced  to  the  passengers  the  simple  educational  amusements  of 
his  old  Washington  life.  Among  these  were  "  Daft  Day,"  in  which 
each  one  was  expected  to  act  the  most  simple  character,  like  Simple 
Simon.  People  were  easily  imposed  upon  and  cheated.  The  origin 
of  this  play  is  very  odd,  and  Mr.  Van  der  Palm,  one  evening  on  board, 
gave  the  following  history  of  it :  — 


HOGMANAY. 

Perhaps  no  poet  has  ever  presented  such  a  pleasing  picture  of  the 
old  Yule  Days,  in  the  halls  of  the  barons,  as  Sir  Walter  Scott.  Who 
does  not  love  to  recall  it  during  mid-winter  holidays,  even  now? 

"  On  Christmas  eve  the  bells  were  rung, 
On  Christmas  eve  the  mass  was  sung, 
Then  opened  wide  the  Baron's  hall, 
To  vassal,  tenant,  serf  and  all." 

When  the  white  towers  of  Abbotsford  rose  over  the  Tweed,  and 
became  Sir  Walter  Scott's  home,  its  master  delighted  to  reproduce  the 
old  Christmas  games  and  customs  of  the  time  of  the  barons.  The 
songs  of  the  old  minstrels  of  the  camp  and  court  were  sung;  the  bag- 
pipes were  played,  and  the  old  legends  of  England  and  Scotland  were 
told. 

The  stories  have  entered  into  Scott's  prose  works,  and  the  songs 
of  the  old  harpers  and  minstrels,  which  he  loved  to  revive  on  such 
occasions,  have  been  made  familiar  to  the  world  through  his  poems, 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  95 

especially  through  the  "  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel  "  and  the  "  Lady  of 
the  Lake."  The  Christmas  days  at  Abbotsford  were  a  picture  of  the 
past.  Scott  wrote  the  "  Bonnets  of  Bonny  Dundee  "  on  Christmas 
clays. 

Christmas  days,  we  say,  for  the  old-time  Christmas  was  not  a  single 
day.  but  a  season.  It  often  lasted  from  Christmas  Eve  until  Twelfth 
Night,  the  sixth  of  January,  and  at  Abbotsford,  from  Christmas  Eve 
until   Hogmanay. 

"  Hogmanay?"  What  is  that?  It  is  a  lost  holiday  of  old  provin- 
cial France  and  England  and  Scotland.  It  meant  "on  to  the  mistle- 
toe !"  a  cry  of  the  minstrels  and  the  children  in  the  old  provinces  of 
France  on  that  merry  day.  It  really  means  "the  last  day  of  the  year," 
or  the  end  of  the  Christmas  season. 

"  Daft  Day "  it  was  called  in  Scotland,  because  on  that  day  the 
people  were  at  liberty  to  act  as  foolishly  as  they  pleased.  It  became, 
in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  time,  a  children's  day,  and  Hogmanay  was  the 
crowning  event  of  the  Abbotsford's  Christmas  holidavs. 

Scott  was,  at  this  time,  at  the  prime  of  life,  and  was  writing  "The 
Tales  of  the  Crusaders."  He  was  concealing  the  authorship  of  his 
works,  and  was  spoken  of  as  "  The  Great  Unknown."  Every  one 
believed  him  to  be  the  real  author  of  the  Waverley  Novels,  but  none  of 
his  guests  could  ever  discover  how  or  when  he  did  his  literarv  work. 

Captain  Hall  thus  speaks  of  an  evening  at  Abbotsford  during  the 
holidays:  "In  the  evening  we  had  a  great  feast  indeed.  Sir  Walter 
asked  us  if  we  had  ever  read  'Christabel,'  and  upon  some  of  us  admit- 
ting with  shame  that  we  never  had  seen  it,  he  offered  to  read  it,  and 
took  a  chair  in  the  midst  of  all  the  party  in  the  library.  .  .  .  He  also 
read  to  us  the  famous  poem  on  '  Thomas  the  Rhymer's  Adventure 
with  the  Queen  of  the  Fairies.'  There  was  also  much  pleasing  sing- 
ing ;  many  old  ballads,  and  many  ballads  pretending  to  be  old,  were 
sung  to  the  harp  and  piano-forte." 

We  note  this  programme,  for  it  is  suggestive.     The  reading  and 


96  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

singing  of  old  historic  ballads  is  a  worthy  entertainment  for  the  even- 
ings of  the  Christmas  holidays. 

The  mood  of  Scott,  at  this  time,  is  thus  pictured  by  Hall,  in  the 
description  of  a  breakfast  after  the  holidays:.  "At  breakfast,  to-day,  we 
had,  as  usual,  many  stories. 

"  I  quite  forget  all  these  stories  but  one.  '  My  cousin,  Walter 
Scott,'  said  he,  'was  a  midshipman  some  forty  years  ago,  in  a  ship  at 
Portsmouth.  He  and  two  companions  had  gone  ashore,  and  had  over- 
stayed their  leave,  and  spent  their  money,  and  run  up  an  immense  bill 
at  the   tavern   on   the   Point. 

" '  The  ship  made  a  signal  for  sailing,  but  the  landlady  said, — 

"  '  "  No,  gentlemen,  you  shall  not  go  without  paying  your  reckoning.'' 

'"  But  they  had  nothing  wherewith  to  pay. 

"  '  "  I  '11  give  you  one  chance,"  said  she.  "  I  am  so  circumstanced 
here  that  I  cannot  carry  on  my  business  as  a  single  woman,  and  I 
must  contrive,  somehow,  to  have  a  husband.  You  may  go,  if  one  of 
you  will  marry  me.  I  do  not  care  which  it  is,  but  one  of  you  shall 
have  me,  or  you  shall  all  go  to  jail,  and  the  ship  sail  without  you." 

" '  They  agreed  to  comply.  The  marriage  ceremony  was  performed, 
and  the  three  sailed  away,  including  the  husband.  Some  months  after, 
at  Jamaica,  a  file  of  papers  reached  the  husband,  and  looking  them 
over  carelessly,  he  suddenly  jumped  up,  and  exclaimed  in  ecstasy, 
"  Thank  heaven,  my  wife  has  been  hanged  !  "  ' 

We  give  this  story  with   slight  abridgment. 

"Yesterday  being  Hogmanay,"  says  Hall,  in  his  Journal,  January  1, 
1825,  "there  was  a  constant  succession  of  Guisards,  —  that  is,  boys 
dressed  up  in  fantastic  caps,  with  their  shirts  over  their  jackets,  and  with 
wooden  swords  in  their  hands."  About  one  hundred  boys,  in  fools' 
costumes,  used  to  visit  Sir  Walter  on  this  Daft  Day.  They  sometimes 
acted  a  masque  or  pantomime. 

Sir  Walter  used  to  give  each  boy  and  girl  who  visited  him  on  Hog- 
manay a  "penny  apiece"  and  an  oaken  cake. 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  97 

The  memories  of  the  Chris tmases  at  Abbotsford  were  a  delight  to 
the  people  of  Melrose  for  many  years.  There  are  some  yet  living  who 
remember  them,  with  their  celebration  of  the  old  lost  holiday  of  Hog- 
manay. 

"A  Christmas  gambol  oft  would  cheer 
A  poor  man's  heart  for  half  the  year." 

The  picture  of  the  gracious  face  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  at  the  doors 
of  Abbotsford,  with  his  dogs,  the  hills  showing  above  the  clustered 
towers  of  the  great  mansion,  and  the  Tweed  rolling  below;  the  pipers 
with  their  bagpipes  ;  the  gathering  children  on  the  grounds,  with  their 
harlequin  caps,  and  shirts  over  their  jackets,  and  wooden  swords;  the 
funny  play,  the  distribution  of  the  pennies  and  oaken  cakes  is  one 
worthy  of  a  poet  or  artist,  and  one  in  which  any  reader  will  love  to 
remember  the  Wizard  of  the  North. 

The  spirit  of  it,  too,  has  a  Christmas  lesson  for  all,  —  the  happiness 
that  makes  happiness,  and  the  equality  of  love  that  the  herald  angels 
sang, — 

'■  Centuries  ago. 

Among  the  diversions  that  Percy  used  to  entertain  his  English 
friends  were  :  — 

BOOK   PARTIES. 

The  book  party  consists  of  a  reading  family,  or  several  families, 
who  hold  a  meeting  once  a  week,  or  at  stated  periods,  to  rehearse  to 
each  other  the  contents  of  books  that  each  member  has  lately  read. 

Each  member  of  the  circle  presents  a  title  of  a  book,  new  or  old, 
gives  an  analysis  of  its  contents,  perhaps  reads  a  few  selections  from  it 
as  an  illustration,  and  criticises  it  and  gives  his  view  of  its  literary 
value  and  moral  worth. 

A  general  discussion  may  follow  the  presentation  of  this  subject- 
matter. 

It  will  be  better  that  the  books  shall  not  be  presented  in  a  topical 
way,  —  as,  for  instance,  scientific   books   on   one  evening,  fiction  on 

7 


qS  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON    THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

another,  or  travel,  art,  or  poetry,  at  stated  times.  It  is  more  interesting 
if  the  analysis  is  made  miscellaneous ;  there  should  be  variety  and 
contrasts. 

Parties  of  this  kind  stimulate  good  reading  and  educate  the  mind 
to  an  acquaintance  with  the  best  thought.  The  social  feature  is  healthy, 
and  the  discussions  are  sure  to  be  animating  and  entertainino-. 

A  very  pleasant  amusement  of  this  order  is  the  play  which  we  may 
call  "Animated  Book  Titles."  A  party  is  given  in  which  each  guest  is 
to  appear  as  the  representative  of  a  title  of  a  book,  or  as  a  character  of 
a  popular  and  well-known  book.  A  young  man  who  comes  with  a 
hoe  may  represent  "  Ivanhoe"  (I  've  an  hoe).  The  "dude"  who  appears 
in  contortions  may  be  "Oliver  Twist"  (all-of-a-twist).  We  have  seen 
"  Lucille "  puzzle  a  company  by  being  acted  as  a  scene  in  a  shoe- 
maker's shop,  —  Loose  heel. 

Such  titles  as  "The  Ring  and  the  Book,"  "We  are  Seven,"  "Never 
too  Late  to  Mend  "  (a  seamstress),  are  sufficiently  suggestive. 

The  word  Eurydice  will  admit  of  carefully  prepared  classical  tableaux 
The  word  may  be  used  as  a  sentence,  as  "  You-ride-I-see,"  in  a  mock 
dialogue  between  two  persons  of  fortunate  and  unfortunate  social 
standing.  The  conductor  of  the  entertainment  may  say,  "  My  whole 
is  one  word,  and  represents  a  character  of  classical  fiction.  The  whole 
word  will  first  be  acted  as  a  sentence,  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between 
a  poor  debtor,  who  has  to  go  on  foot,  and  an  equestrian,  who  has  just 
alighted  from  a  fine  horse.  The  second  scene  will  represent  the 
character  in  tableau." 

The  second  scene  will  be  Orpheus  and  his  lyre  (the  music  may 
be  played  on  a  piano)  at  the  door  of  a  darkened  room,  and  an  appear- 
ance of  the  shade  of  Eurydice.  She  follows  Orpheus  as  he  beckons 
over  his  shoulder  until  she  comes  to  a  place  near  the  door,  when  he, 
contrary  to  the  commands  of  the  gods,  looks  around,  and  she  vanishes 
after  the  manner  of  the  old  mythological  story,  which  should  be  care- 
fully studied  by  the  leader  of  such  an  entertainment.  The  tableau  can 
be  made  very  beautiful. 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  99 

In  the  Orange  Party  everything  is  supposed  to  assume  the  colors 
of  Lord  Baltimore.  The  dresses  of  the  ladies  must  be  orange,  or 
orange  and  white,  or  orange  and  black.  The  orange  color  in  them  is 
to  be  made  conspicuous  or  to  predominate.  The  gentlemen  will  wear 
orange  neckties,  perhaps  orange  sashes  or  vests.  The  rooms  or  halls 
are  to  be  trimmed  with  orange  colors,  as  festoons  of  orange  cloth,  or 
green  boughs  to  which  oranges  are  attached. 

If  possible,  decorate  the  dining-room  with  the  Spanish  moss  of 
Florida.  Your  fruit  dealer,  or  any  friends  that  you  may  have  in 
Florida,  will  secure  the  moss  for  you.  The  rooms,  in  which  we 
attended  the  party,  were  so  trimmed. 

Provide  orange  shades  for  the  lights,  which  is  easily  done  by  cover- 
ing the  globes  with  orange  silk  or  tissue  paper. 

The  refreshments  are  to  be  oranges  of  all  kinds.  It  is  not  so 
expensive  to  provide  these  as  it  might  seem.  Tangerine,  Musketine. 
Navel,  Blood,  and  Indian  River  oranges,  together  with  Florida  grape- 
fruit, are  to  be  found  in  the  cool  seasons  in  nearly  every  large  market, 
as  are  also  Havana  oranges  and  the  Sicilian  varieties. 

These  all  should  be  picturesquely  piled  upon  a  long  table,  and 
the  pyramids  decorated  with  leaves,  evergreens,  Spanish  moss,  or 
flowers. 

In  serving  the  oranges  there  should  be  a  lecturer,  whose  office  it 
is  to  describe  each  variety,  as  it  is  quartered  and  laid  upon  the  plates. 
Let  many  varieties  be  laid  cut  upon  each  plate,  so  that  the  eating 
and  the  testing  of  the  flavors  will  furnish  a  very  pleasant  theme  for 
conversation. 

Sugar  will  be  served  with  the  oranges  for  the  sour  varieties  and 
grape-fruit.     Orange  cake  may  also  be  served. 

The  music  will  be  plantation  songs  to  the  accompaniment  of  the 
guitar  or  banjo.  American  negro  melodies  and  Spanish  boleros  were 
sung  at  Percy's  arrangement  of  such  a  party,  to  which  his  father  added 
a  lecture  on  oranges. 


IOO  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

The  Question  Class  is  a  very  entertaining  and  educational  home 
amusement.  The  game  consists  of  presenting  the  names  of  obscure 
places  for  guessing,  and  "  throwing  light  "  on  them  by  description 
and   history. 

For  example :  "Where  is  Zag-a-zig?"  A  long  pause.  "Shall  I 
throw  light  ?  "  The  one  who  has  given  out  the  word  may  begin  to 
give  the  history  of  the  Suez  Canal. 

The  geography  of  obscure  names  in  poems  may  be  used  in  this 
way;  also  obscure  names  of  battle-fields,  Belgrade ;  and  Indian  names 
and  their  meanings. 

An  odd  question  has  sometimes  been  asked  at  such  parties,  which 
is  usually  difficult  to  answer,  but  very  stimulating  to  thought :  "  Who 
would  you  choose  to  be  if  you  could  not  be  yourself  ? '  To  which 
last  one  of  the  passengers  made  answer,  "  The  next  best  man  in  all 
the  world." 

The  ship  was  so  steady  in  the  afternoons  that  these  refined  amuse- 
ments answered  well.  When  the  ship  was  unsteady,  new  games  of 
pitching  quoits  were  favorites.  The  men  played  and  the  women 
laughed  at  their  miscalculations. 

In  the  evenings  songs  were  sung,  — songs  of  many  lands,  —  among 
them,  "  Songs  of  the  Pyrenees,"  "  Songs  of  Caracas,"  and  the  "  Mexi- 
can National  Hymn,"  that  in  Mexico  announces  the  President,  and  is 
only  played  when  the  President  is  present. 

Percy  composed  a  student's  song  to  the  air  of  the  "  Red,  White, 
and  Blue."      He  sung  it  daily  at  the  meetings  for  diversions. 

The  ship  touched  at  the  Cape  Verd  Islands,  and  again  at  the 
"  blue  Canaries."  Percy  saw  the  native  canary  birds,  which  here 
were  gray.  These  islands  were  among  the  earliest  discoveries  of  navi- 
gators who  ventured  beyond  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  as  Gibraltar 
was   once  called. 

Percy  could  imagine  how  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  twelve  thousand 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  IOI 

feet  high,  must  have  looked  to  the  crews  of  Columbus  as  it  blazed 
over  the  sea.  From  these  sea  volcanoes,  chimneys  of  the  sea,  the 
ship  sailed  directly  to  Lisbon.  Thence  Mr.  Van  der  Palm  and  Percy 
took  passage  for  Gibraltar. 

During  the  voyage  the  passengers  and  officers  amused  themselves 
at  times  by  repeating  proverbs.  A  prize  was  offered  to  the  person 
who  could  collect  and  repeat  the  largest  number  of  Proverbs  of  the 
Sea.  Percy  was  something  of  a  student  of  this  kind  of  literature,  and 
having  the  assistance  of  a  popular  book  of  sea  literature,  presented 
at  the  end  of  the  voyage  the  longest  list,  and  was  voted  a  Solomon 
and  the  purse. 

PROVERBS   OF   THE   SEA. 

i.    The  sea  is  like  sorrow,  — one  never  sees  the  end. 

2.  My  good-will  toward  you  is  as  great  as  the  sea,  and  my  love  as 
its  depth. 

3.  A  bad  reputation  spreads  even  to  the  sea.  A  good  reputation 
remains  at  the  threshold  of  the  door. 

4.  Patience  is  grander  than  the  ocean. 

5.  One  can  look  into  the  bosom  of  the  sea,  but  one  cannot  see 
what  is  in  the  heart  of  man. 

6.  We  shall  pass  away  ;  the  land  and  the  sea  will  remain. 

7.  As  rich  as  the  sea. 

S.  Rich  as  the  sea,  or  rich  as  Saint  Peter,  are  expressions  used  of 
a  man  who  possesses  a  large  fortune.  To  the  Breton  sailor,  all  which 
falls  to  the  sea  belongs  by  right  to  Saint  Peter. 

9.  Give  yourself  a  pond  when  you  wish  the  sea ;  it  is  insatiable. 

10.  Nothing  is  richer  than  the  sea. 

11.  There  are  many  things  in  the  field,  but  there  are  more  in  the 
sea. 

12.    Avarice  is  like  the  sea;  it  takes  all  and  oives  nothing. 


102  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

13.  Not  for  all  the  treasures  of  the  ocean,  would  I  place  its  limits 
to  my  existence. 

14.  Avarice  is  a  sea  without  bottom,  and  rarely  does  a  man  fall 
therein  and  save  himself. 

15.  Hell,  the  sea,  and  avarice  never  have  enough. 

16.  Three  things  are  insatiable  ;  priests,  monks,  and  the  sea. 

17.  The  sea  complains  it  wants  water. 

iS.  He  measures  the  waters  of  the  sea  in  his  fist  (he  attempts  an 
impossibility). 

19.  He  is  building  a  bridge  over  the  sea. 

20.  To  can-}'  water  to  the  sea  (to  carry  something  to  a  place 
where  there  is  a  great  abundance). 

21.  To  turn  water  into  the  sea  ;  to  give  to  the  rich. 

22.  He  gives  of  the  water  of  the  ocean  (to  obtain  from  the  aid 
of  another  or  to  draw  from  an  abundant  source,  but  to  give  nothing 
from  his  own  heart). 

23.  To  throw  water  into  the  sea;  to  do  good  to  the  rabble. 

24.  No  sea  without  water,  no  God  without  wisdom. 

25.  A  drop  of  water  does  not  make  the  sea. 

26.  Can  the  sea  be  filled  with  the  falling  dew  ? 

27.  The  sea  is  in  want  of  water  (when  a  woman  has  no  reply  to 
make  on  the  spot.) 

28.  To  demand  of  avarice  is  to  dig  into  the  sea. 

29.  Drop  by  drop  the  sea  is  drained. 

30.  Water  always  runs  into  the  sea. 

31.  All  water  goes  to  the  sea,  and  all  money  passes  through  the 
hand  of  the  rich. 

32.  All  the  waters  go  to  the  sea,  and  yet  it  is  not  more  full. 

33.  The  sea  receives  into  its  bosom  sweet  waters,  and  that  which 
it  gives  is  salt. 

34.  Rivers  run  to  the  sea. 

35.  All  rivers  do  what  they  can  for  the  sea. 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  103 

36.  The  sea  refuses  no  river. 

37.  Follow  the  river,  and  you  '11  get  to  the  sea. 

38.  He  drinks  the  sea  and  the  fishes. 

39.  To  drink  the  sea  is  a  difficult  task. 

40.  When  one  has  drunk  the  sea,  he  can  well  eat  the  fishes  (when 
one  has  suffered  a  great  outrage,  one  can  well  endure  others). 

41.  I  am  so  very  thirsty,  I  could  drink  the  sea. 

42.  It  is  as  though  he  attempted  to  count  the  sands  of  the  desert 
or  to  drink  the  ocean. 

43.  One  cannot  dry  the  sea  with  sponges. 

44.  Can  a  dog  lapping  water  diminish  the  ocean  ? 

45.  He  went  to  the  sea  and  he  found  it  dry.  (He  who  proceeds 
without  courage  would  do  well  to  turn  back,  for  he  will  fail  in  his 
enterprise.) 

46.  He  could  not  find  water  in  the  sea. 

47.  To  be  in  the  ocean  and  to  return  to  one's  home  thirsty. 

48.  Salt  as  the  sea. 

49.  To  salt  the  sea  and  the  fishes  (to  salt  too  much). 

50.  A  merchandise  is  salt  when  it  has  been  paid  for  dear. 

51.  There  is  more  water  to  drink  in  wells  than  in  the  sea. 

52.  There  is  more  to  drink  in  a  bottle  than  in  the  sea. 

53.  In  the  water  of  the  sea,  one  can  see  his  (visage)  face 
(changeableness). 

54.  To  till  the  shore  of  the  sea  (to  take  useless  trouble). 

55.  I  have  only  learned  to  till  upon  the  sea  and  to  reap  upon  the 
rocks. 

56.  Could  he  who  cannot  leap  over  a  canal,  jump  over  the  sea  ? 

57.  He  desires  to  cross  the  ocean,  but  cannot  cross  a  little  stream. 

58.  A  tenacious  man  is  like  the  sea  upon  the  rock. 

59.  The  trident  of  Neptune  is  the  sceptre  of  the  world. 

60.  He  who  is  master  of  the  sea  is  master  of  the  earth. 

61.  The  seas  make  the  soul  of  man.  The  waves  give  him 
intelligence. 


104  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

62.  A  fool  throws  a  stone  into  the  sea.  One  hundred  wise  men 
could  not  draw  it  out. 

63.  If  you  are  not  happy,  you  can  throw  yourself  into  the  sea. 

64.  Treacherous  as  the  ocean. 

65.  He  that  would  sail  without  danger,  must  never  go  on  the  sea. 

66.  He  that  would  learn  to  pray,  let  him  go  to  sea. 

67.  When  starting  for  war,  make  one  prayer ;  when  going  upon 
the  sea,  make  two  prayers  ;  do  you  wish  to  marry,  make  three  prayers. 

6S.  He  who  would  learn  to  pray  should  go  to  sea ;  and  he  who 
would  know  how  to  sleep  should  go  to  church. 

69.  Sailors  have  no  need  of  books  to  learn  to  think  of  God  ;  the 
sea  and  the  heavens  speak  clearly  enough  to  them. 

70.  The  sea  is  a  beautiful  sight  from  the  shore. 

71.  Praise  the  sea,  (but)  a  in  foreign  country. 

72.  Praise  the  sea,  but  hold  yourself  on  the  shore. 

11.  It  is  much  better  to  trust  one's  self  to  men  on  land  than  to 
sails  on  the  sea. 

74.  It  is  safer  to  live  poor  on  land  than  rich  on  sea. 

75.  Nothing  is  more  subject  to  changes  than  the  sea. 

76.  Every  man  who  wishes  to  be  reduced  to  misery  and  to  beggary 
has  only  to  trust  his  life  and  fortune  to  the  sea. 

77.  One  sou  earned  upon  land  is  worth  more  than  ten  earned  on 
the  sea;  one  can  possess  a  sou  earned  on  the  land,  but  he  can  see  the 
ten  earned  on  the  sea  drown  themselves. 

78.  There  are  two  things  of  which  we  demand  something  without 
ceasing ;  they  give  without  reserve  and  without  spite,  —  the  sea  and 
the  land. 

79.  I  encompass  the  land  with  all  the  coasts.  I  am  agitated  with 
frequent  tempests;  it  is  I  who  go  where  the  water  has  the  most  space 
in  which  to  move  (the  sea). 

So.  What  is  the  most  impossible  thing  ?  To  dip  the  sea  with  a 
sieve. 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  1 05 

Si.    What  is  that  which  carries  easily  a  cartload  of  hay  but  which 
cannot  carry  a  sou  ?     The  sea. 

82.     In  the  salt  sea  fresh  fish  are  born. 

S3.     Do  not  sell  the  fish  which  are  yet  in  the  sea. 

84.  To  fish  well,  it  is  necessary  to  go  to  the  sea. 

85.  The  sea  does  not  complain  of  the  fishes. 

86.  Do  good,  and  throw  it  to  the  sea  ;  whether  the  fishes  swallow 
it  or  men  forget  it,  God  will  remember  it. 

87.  A  straw  can  remain  in  the  sea,  but  a  secret  cannot  remain  in 
the  soul. 

88.  If  the  sea  boiled,  plenty  of  fish  would  be  cooked. 

So.  If  the  ocean  became  clouds,  the  universe  would  be  submerged. 

90.  The  sea  does  not  buy  fish. 

9 1 .  The  sea  is  a  good  paymaster. 

92.  The  sea  belongs  to  the  whole  world. 

93.  The  sea  does  not  burn  ;  there  is  nothing  which  crowds. 

94.  Man   is  like   the  sea;  if   he    does    not    move    to-day   he  will 
to-morrow. 

95.  Man  is  like  the  sea,  what  he  does  to-day  he  will  do  to-morrow. 

96.  Not  the  sea,  but  the  wind,  makes  vessels  perish. 

97.  To  mix  heaven  and  earth  (deep  trouble). 

98.  The  sea  even,  which  is  so  great  (grand),  becomes  calm. 

99.  The  virtues  which  have  not  been  tried  by  danger  are  not  in 
honor  either  in  empty  ships  or  among  men. 

100.  To  search  by  land  or  sea. 

101.  Fortune  is  like  the  sea,  sometimes  high  and  sometimes  low. 

102.  The  world  resembles  the  sea:  we  see  those  drown  who  do 
not  know  how  to  swim. 

103.  He  sails  on  a  full  sea. 

104.  To  sail  in  great  waters. 

105.  Being  on  the  sea,  sail;  being  on  the  land,  settle. 

106.  "  The  sea  tires,"  said  the  man  who  had  already  eaten  his  pro- 
visions after  sailing  the  first  quarter  of  a  league. 


106  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

107.  Some  one  said  that  his  great-grandfather,  grandfather,  and 
his  father  died  on  the  sea.  "  If  I  were  you,"  said  one  to  him,  "  I  would 
never  go  upon  the  sea."  "  Why,"  he  replied ;  "  where  did  your  great- 
grandfather, grandfather,  and  father  die  ?  "  "  Where,  if  not  in  their 
beds  ?  "     "  If  I  were  in  your  place,  I  would  never  go  to  bed." 

108.  I  have  seen  a  man  who  has  seen  another  man  who  has  seen 
the  sea. 

109.  A  mariner  ought  never  to  laugh  till  he  has  reached  port. 

1 10.  A  Sicilian  who  carried  figs  in  his  ship  was  wrecked  and 
saved.  One  day,  when  he  was  on  the  shore  and  the  sea  was  calm,  he 
said,  "  I  see  what  you  would  have  ;  you  wanted  my  figs  ! " 

The  steamer  passed  over  a  part  of  the  sea  through  which  Columbus 
made  his  outward  voyage,  and  the  red  peak  of  Teneriffe  recalled  to 
Percy  the  terror  of  the  crews  of  the  caravels  of  the  discovery.  He 
also  remembered  the  old  tale  of  the  kraken,  or  the  sea-monster  which 
was  supposed  to  inhabit  the  western  seas,  and  to  uplift  its  gigantic 
head  and  seize  the  adventurous  ships.  There  was  on  board  the  ship  a 
number  of  books  entitled,  "  The  Fisheries  Exhibition  Literature,"  and 
from  one  of  these  volumes  he  obtained  a  very  interesting  account  of 
the  early  Northern  legends  of  this  fabulous  monster,  which  we  quote. 

THE    KRAKEN. 

IX  the  legends  and  traditions  of  northern  nations,  stories  of  the  existence  of 
a  marine  animal  of  such  enormous  size  that  it  more  resembled  an  island  than 
an  organized  being  frequently  found  a  place.  It  is  thus  described  in  an  ancient 
manuscript  (about  A.  D.  11S0),  attributed  to  the  Norwegian  King  Sverre,  and 
the  belief  in  it  has  been  alluded  to  by  other  Scandinavian  writers  from  an  early 
period  to  the  present  day.  It  was  an  obscure  and  mysterious  sea-monster, 
known  as  the  kraken,  whose  form  and  nature  were  imperfectly  understood,  and 
it  was  peculiarly  the  object  of  popular  wonder  and  superstitious  dread. 

Eric  Pontoppidan,  the  younger,  Bishop  of  Bergen,  and  member  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Sciences  at  Copenhagen,  is  generally,  but  unjustly,  regarded  as  the 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  IOg 

inventor  of  the  semi-fabulous  kraken,  and  is  constantly  misquoted  by  authors 
who  have  never  read  his  work  ("Natural  History  of  Norway'),  and  who,  one 
after  another,  have  copied  from  their  predecessors  erroneous  statements  con- 
cerning him.  More  than  half  a  century  before  him,  Christian  Francis  Paullinus, 
a  physician  and  naturalist  of  Eisenach,  who  evinced  in  his  writings  an  admira- 
tion of  the  marvellous  rather  than  of  the  useful,  had  described  as  resembling 
Gesner's  "  Heracleoticon,"  a  monstrous  animal  which  occasionally  rose  from  the 
sea  on  the  coasts  of  Lapland  and  Finmark,  and  which  was  of  such  enormous 
dimensions  that  a  regiment  of  soldiers  could  conveniently  manoeuvre  on  its 
back.  About  the  same  date,  but  a  little  earlier,  Bartholinus,  a  learned  Dane, 
told  how,  on  a  certain  occasion,  the  Bishop  of  Midaros  found  the  kraken  quietly 
reposing  on  the  shore,  and  mistaking  the  enormous  creature  for  a  huge  rock, 
erected  an  altar  upon  it  and  performed  Mass.  The  kraken  respectfully  waited 
till  the  ceremony  was  concluded,  and  the  reverend  prelate  safe  on  shore,  and 
then  sank  beneath  the  waves. 

And  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  Bartholinus  and  Paullinus  wrote,  Olaus 
Magnus,  Archbishop  of  Upsala,  in  Sweden,  had  related  many  wondrous  narra- 
tives of  sea-monsters,  —  tales  which  had  gathered  and  accumulated  marvels  as 
they  had  been  passed  on  from  generation  to  generation  in  oral  history,  and 
which  he  took  care  to  bequeath  to  his  successors  undeprived  of  any  of  their 
fascination.  According  to  him,  the  kraken  was  not  so  polite  to  the  laity  as  to 
the  bishop,  for  when  some  fishermen  lighted  a  fire  on  its  back,  it  sank  beneath 
their  feet,  and  overwhelmed  them  in  the  waters. 

Pontoppidan  was  not  a  fabricator  of  falsehoods ;  but,  in  collecting  evidence 
relating  to  the  "  great  beasts  "  living  in  "  the  great  and  wide  sea,"  was  influenced, 
as  he  tells  us,  by  "  a  desire  to  extend  the  popular  knowledge  of  the  glorious 
works  of  a  beneficent  Creator."  He  gave  too  much  credence  to  contemporary 
narratives  and  old  traditions  of  floating  islands  and  sea-monsters,  and  to  the 
superstitious  beliefs  and  exaggerated  statements  of  ignorant  fishermen.  But  if 
those  who  ridicule  him  had  lived  in  his  day  and  amongst  his  people,  they  would 
probably  have  done  the  same ;  for  even  Linnaeus  was  led  to  believe  in  the 
kraken,  and  catalogued  it  in  the  first  edition  of  his  "  Systema  Naturae,"  as 
"  Sepia  Microcosmos."  He  seems  to  have  afterwards  had  cause  to  discredit 
his  information  respecting  it,  for  he  omitted  it  in  the  next  edition.  The  Nor- 
wegian bishop  was  a  conscientious  and  painstaking  investigator,  and  the  tone  of 
his  writings  is  neither  that  of  an  intentional  deceiver  nor  of  an  incautious  dupe. 
He  diligently  endeavored  to  separate  the  truth  from  the  cloud  of  error  and  fic- 
tion by  which  it  was  obscured;  and  in  this  he  was  to  a  great  extent  successful, 
for  he  correctly  identifies,  from  the  vague  and  perplexing  descriptions  submitted 


1IO  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

to  him,  the  animal  whose  habits  and  structure  had  given  rise  to  so  many  terror- 
laden  narratives  and  extravagant  traditions. 

The  following  are  some  of  his  remarks  on  the  subject  of  this  gigantic  and 
ill-defined  animal.  Although  I  have  greatly  abbreviated  them,  I  have  thought 
it  right  to  quote  them  at  considerable  length,  that  the  modest  and  candid  spirit 
in  which  they  were  written  may  be  understood :  — 

"  Amongst  the  many  things,"  he  says,  "  which  are  in  the  ocean,  and  con- 
cealed from  our  eyes,  or  only  presented  to  our  view  for  a  few  minutes,  is  the 
kraken.  This  creature  is  the  largest  and  most  surprising  of  all  the  animal  crea- 
tion, and  consequently  well  deserves  such  an  account  as  the  nature  of  the  thing, 
according  to  the  Creator's  wise  ordinances,  will  admit  of.  Such  I  shall  give  at 
present,  and  perhaps  much  greater  light  on  this  subject  may  be  reserved  for 
posterity. 

"  Our  fishermen  unanimously  affirm,  and  without  the  least  variation  in  their 
accounts,  that  when  they  row  out  several  miles  to  sea,  particularly  in  the  hot 
summer  days,  and  by  their  situation  (which  they  know  by  taking  a  view  of  dif- 
ferent points  of  land)  expect  to  find  eighty  or  a  hundred  fathoms  of  water,  it 
often  happens  that  they  do  not  find  above  twenty  or  thirty,  and  sometimes  less. 
At  these  places  they  generally  find  the  greatest  plenty  of  fish,  especially  cod 
and  ling.  Their  lines,  they  say,  are  no  sooner  out  than  they  may  draw  them 
up  with  the  hooks  all  full  of  fish.  By  this  they  know  that  the  kraken  is  at  the 
bottom.  They  say  this  creature  causes  these  unnatural  shallows  mentioned 
above,  and  prevents  their  sounding.  These  the  fishermen  are  always  glad  to 
find,  looking  upon  them  as  a  means  of  their  taking  abundance  of  fish. 

"  There  are  sometimes  twenty  boats  or  more  got  together  and  throwing  out 
their  lines  at  a  moderate  distance  from  each  other;  and  the  only  thing  they 
then  have  to  observe  is  whether  the  depth  continues  the  same  which  they  know 
by  their  lines,  or  whether  it  grows  shallower,  by  their  seeming  to  have  less  water. 
If  this  last  be  the  case  they  know  that  the  kraken  is  raising  himself  nearer  the 
surface,  and  then  it  is  not  time  for  them  to  stay  any  longer;  they  immediately 
leave  oft"  fishing,  take  to  their  oars,  and  get  away  as  fast  as  they  can. 

"When  they  have  reached  the  usual  depth  of  the  place,  and  find  themselves 
out  of  danger,  the}'  lie  upon  their  oars,  and  in  a  few  minutes  after  they  see  this 
enormous  monster  come  up  to  the  surface  of  the  water.  He  there  shows  himself 
sufficiently,  though  his  whole  body  does  not  appear,  which  in  all  likelihood  no 
human  eye  ever  beheld. 

"  Its  back  or  upper  part,  which  seems  to  be  in  appearance  about  an  English 
mile  and  a  half  in  circumference  (some  say  more,  but  I  choose  the  least  for 
greater  certainty),  looks  at  first  like  a  number  of  small  islands  surrounded  with 


AMUSEMENTS  AT  SEA.  I  I  I 

something  that  floats  and  fluctuates  like  sea-weeds.  Here  and  there  a  larger 
rising  is  observed  like  sand-banks,  on  which  various  kinds  of  small  fishes  are 
seen  continually  leaping  about  till  they  roll  oft"  into  the  water  from  the  sides  of 
it;  at  last  several  bright  points  or  horns  appear,  which  grow  thicker  and  thicker 
the  higher  they  rise  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  sometimes  they  stand 
up  as  high  and  as  large  as  the  masts  of  middle-sized  vessels.  It  seems  these 
are  the  creature's  arms;  and  it  is  said  if  they  were  to  lay  hold  of  the  largest 
man-of-war  they  would  pull  it  down  to  the  bottom.  After  this  monster  has 
been  on  the  surface  of  the  water  a  short  time  it  begins  to  slowly  sink  again, 
and  then  the  danger  is  as  great  as  before ;  because  the  motion  of  his  sinking 
causes  such  a  swell  in  the  sea,  and  such  an  eddy  or  whirlpool,  that  it  draws 
everything  down  with  it,  like  the  current  of  the  river  Male. 

"  As  this  enormous  sea  animal  in  all  probability  may  be  reckoned  of  the 
polype,  or  of  the  starfish  kind,  as  shall  hereafter  be  more  fully  proved,  it  seems 
that  the  parts  which  are  seen  rising  at  its  pleasure,  and  are  called  arms,  arc- 
properly  the  tentacula,  or  feeling  instruments,  called  horns  as  well  as  arms. 
With  these  they  move  themselves,  and  likewise  gather  in  their  food. 

"  Besides  these,  for  this  last  purpose  the  great  Creator  has  also  given  this 
creature  a  strong  and  peculiar  scent,  which  it  can  emit  at  certain  times,  and  by 
means  of  which  it  beguiles  and  draws  other  fish  to  come  in  heaps  about  it. 
This  animal  has  another  strange  property,  known  by  the  experience  of  many 
old  fishermen.  They  observe  that  for  some  months  the  kraken  or  krabben  is 
continually  eating,  and  in  other  months  he  always  voids  his  excrements.  During 
this  evacuation  the  surface  of  the  water  is  colored  with  the  excrement,  and 
appears  quite  thick  and  turbid.  This  muddiness  is  said  to  be  so  very  agree- 
able to  the  smell  or  taste  of  other  fishes,  or  to  both,  that  they  gather  together 
from  all  parts  to  it,  and  keep  for  that  purpose  directly  over  the  kraken;  he 
then  opens  his  arms  or  horns,  seizes  and  swallows  his  welcome  guests  and  con- 
verts them  after  due  time,  by  digestion,  into  a  bait  for  other  fish  of  the  same 
kind.  I  relate  what  is  affirmed  by  many ;  but  I  cannot  give  so  certain  assur- 
ances of  this  particular  as  I  can  of  the  existence  of  this  surprising  creature, 
though  I  do  not  find  anything  in  it  absolutely  contrary  to  Nature.  As  we 
can  hardly  expect  to  examine  this  enormous  sea  animal  alive,  I  am  the 
more  concerned  that  nobody  embraced  that  opportunity  which,  according  to 
an  account  once  did,  and  perhaps  never  more  may,  offer,  of  seeing  it  entire 
when  dead." 


CHAPTER   V. 


GIBRALTAR. 


llHE  Port  of  Gibraltar  to  a  lover  of  stories  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  in  the  world. 

Gibraltar  is  a  rocky  promontory,  some  three 
miles  in  length,  and  is  connected  with  the  main- 
land of  Spain,  although  it  does  not  seem  so  to  be 
as  seen  from  the  sea.  The  town  of  Gibraltar  has 
some  seventeen  thousand  inhabitants,  and  a  changing  population,  and 
is  connected  with  a  garrison  of  some  five  thousand  men.  This  town 
of  twenty  thousand  or  more  people  is  a  picture  of  the  types  of  the 
world.  English,  Spaniards,  Jews  and  Moors,  sailors  from  all  lands, 
commercial  agents,  travellers,  and  adventurers,  are  to  be  found  here, 
and  the  consular  rooms  are  nowhere  more  interesting. 

The  rock  of  Gibraltar  is  the  world's  greatest  fortress,  —  the  pride  of 
England,  and  the  humiliation  of  Spain,  from  which  it  was  wrested.  It 
is  composed  of  gray  marble  and  covered  with  moss  and  dwarf  vegeta- 
tion. Birds  and  little  animals  find  a  secure  home  on  the  sides  of  the 
defiant  sea  mountain,  as  they  are  protected  by  local  law.  The  peak 
has  an  elevation  of  about  1440  feet.  He  who  goes  up  to  the  top  to 
see  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar,  the  coasts  of  Spain  and  Africa,  "  the  Pillars 
of  Hercules."  and  the  sea,  passes  grassy  glens  where  grow  capers, 
palmitas,  aloes  and  cacti,  where  live  pigeons,  woodcocks,  and  Bar- 
bary  apes. 

The  wars  of  Gibraltar  would  fill  volumes,  that  of  1872  being  the 
most  remarkable,  when  red  hot  shot,  or  rains  of  liquid  fire  brought 


THE    ROCK    OF    GIBRALTAR. 


GIBRALTAR.  I  I  5 

the  fortress  securely  and  for  all  time,  it  is  probable,  under  the  English 
dominion.  The  fortress  is  one  mountain  of  protected  batteries.  Noth- 
ing but  some  new  art  of  scientific  discovery  could  ever  wrest  it  from 
the  English  flag. 

Gibraltar  may  be  said  to  be  the  port  of  all  ports,  the  capital  port 
of  the  world.  The  Mediterranean  is  the  sea  of  the  world.  From  it 
the  ships  of  discovery  sailed.  Its  shores  are  the  ruins  of  empires,  and 
the  seats  of  eastern  powers. 

All  nations  have  their  representatives  at  times  in  the  old  commer- 
cial houses  here  that  line  the  narrow  streets,  where  children  of  many 
colors  play  together,  pet  apes  gibber,  and  parrots  scream.  Here 
many  flags,  a  congress  of  flags,  daily  float  in   the  sea  winds. 

Curiosities  abound  in  the  streets,  —  ships,  commercial  houses,  and 
consulates.     Gibraltar  is  the  curiosity  shop  of  the  world. 

TALES    OF  THE   CONSULATES    OF   GIBRALTAR. 
'•THE    GRINDING    OVER  YOUNG." 

In  one  of  the  old  consular  rooms  of  Gibraltar,  Percy  discovered  a 
very  old  and  curious  picture.  Among  all  the  curiosities  of  the 
place,  nothing  more  haunted  his  imagination  than  this  odd  print. 
He  used  to  return  to  it  as  often  as  he  went  to  that  consulate,  and 
stand  before  it  with  a  stimulated  imagination. 

The  picture  represented  a  number  of  old  men  in  various  stages  of 
decrepitude  going  up  an  inclined  plane  to  a  funnel  to  be  ground  over 
young.  There  was  one  man  gleefully  sinking  down  into  the  funnel- 
shaped  hopper  to  be  ground  over.  A  young  woman  had  charge  of  this 
wonderful  mill,  and  a  priest  was  praying  on  his  knees  during  the 
miraculous  grinding.  The  old  man  who  was  to  be  ground  over  used 
some  kind  of  magic  medicine  to  assist  the  progress,  and  an  expectant 
group  of  fair  young  ladies  were  waiting  to  receive  the  young  men  as 
fast  as  they  were  ground  out.     These  young  ladies  were  seen  going 


I  1 6  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON    THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

happily  away  with  the  ground-over   men,  who   came  out  young  and 
handsome,  and  full  of  good  spirits. 

The  picture  was  droll,  rude,  and  incongruous,  and  yet  it  held  the 
fancy  like  Ponce  de  Leon's  dream  of  the  Fountain  of  Youth. 

'•  What  history  has  that  picture  ? "  asked  Percy  of  the  French 
consul. 

"None;  none  at  all,  my  American  boy.  It  is  tavern  print,  and 
may  be  found  in  many  old  taverns  on  the  Continent.  It  is  very  droll 
and  popular.  This  one  always  excites  the  curiosity  of  you  Americans." 
"  It  would  be  better  if  the  funnel  were  larger,  and  there  was  a  box 
for  mill-atones.  How  could  a  man  be  ground  over  in  that  way?  The 
passage  is  too  small." 

"Omen  sabc"  said  the  consul,  in  the  Spanish  term  of  the  place,  "  I 
do  not  wonder  that  you  look  at  it.  The  world  all  wants  to  be  ground 
over,  and  most  of  us  need  to  be.  But  no  day  ever  returns  again  ;  the 
days  go,  and  go,  and  leave  us  the  products  of  the  past.  There  is  some- 
thing in  that  picture  that  makes  me  serious,  as  curious  as  it  is.  No 
one  over  fifty  years  of  age  could  look  upon  it  without  a  regret  in  his 
laugh.  I  sometimes  find  myself  dreaming  over  it.  It  is  a  thing  that 
sets  one's  fancy  flying  " 

The  consulates  of  Gibraltar  were  indeed  story-telling  places.  The 
stories  of  many  lands  were  to  be  heard  here,  most  of  them  either  tragic 
or  humorous.  Here  Percy  made  a  study  of  the  tales  of  the  Spanish 
Chaucer,  and  gathered  into  the  note-book  of  his  memory  some  of  the 
most  curious  happenings  and  fancies  of  the  world. 


GIBRALTAR.  II9 

WHAT    HAPPENED    TO   A   MOORISH    KING,   WHO    HAD   THREE 

SONS,  AND   WHO    DESIRED   TO   KNOW   WHICH    WOULD 
BECOME    THE   BEST    MAN. 

FROM   COUNT   LUCANOR ; 

Or.  the  Fifty  Pleasant  Stories  of  Patronio,  written-  by  the  Prince  Don  Juan 
Manuel,  a.  d.  1335-1347-  First  done  into  English  from  the  Spanish  by  James 
Polk,  M.  D.,  1S6S. 

COUNT  Lucanor,  being  one  day  in  conversation  with  Patronio,  said  as 
follows :  — 

"  Patronio,  there  are  many  young  men  who  are  being  brought  up  at  my 
court.  Some  are  of  high  birth,  some  are  not.  Now,  I  find  their  manners  and 
dispositions  so  various  that  I  am  perplexed;  and,  knowing  the  strength  of  your 
judgment,  I  pray  you  to  tell  me  how  I  ma)-  be  able  to  form  an  opinion  as  to 
which  of  them  will  become  the  best  man." 

"  My  lord,"  said  Patronio,  "  the  question  which  you  place  before  me  is  very 
difficult  to  answer,  for  we  cannot  speak  with  certainty  of  that  which  is  to  come ; 
and  as  what  you  demand  is  hidden  in  the  future,  so  must  some  uncertainty  rest 
upon  my  opinion. 

"  But  we  may  be  able  to  form  some  idea  by  particularly  observing  their 
development  internally  as  well  as  externally.  As  regards  this  latter,  there  is 
the  form  of  the  features,  the  grace  of  movement,  the  complexion,  as  also  the 
growth  of  the  body  and  development  of  its  members  ;  by  the  principal  mem- 
bers I  mean  those  essential  to  good  health,  —  the  heart,  the  brain,  and  the  liver. 
Yet  though  all  the  signs  may  appear  satisfactory,  we  can  speak  with  no  cer- 
tainty as  to  the  ultimate  result,  for  seldom  do  they  all  accord  long,  one  deraign- 
ment  influencing  all  the  functions,  or  the  contrary.  But  for  the  most  part, 
according  to  the  indications  above  named,  may  we  judge  of  the  future.  Notice 
the  form  of  the  features,  and  particularly  the  eyes,  with  the  grace  of  movement; 
these  signs  seldom  deceive.  Do  not,  however,  suppose  that  gracefulness  is 
dependent  upon  beauty  or  ugliness,  for  there  are  many  men  who  are  handsome 
and  well-formed,  but  without  grace;  while  again,  others,  decidedly  ill-made, 
have  that  gracefulness  which  entitles  them  to  be  called  fine  men.  Nevertheless, 
the  development  of  the  body  and  limbs  should  be  taken  as  indications  of  valor 
and  activity,  although  it  may  not  be  always  so.  It  is,  therefore,  as  I  said  before, 
very  difficult  to  speak  with  certainty;  for  what  appears  favorable  now  may,  by 
the  force  of  circumstances,  be  entirely  changed.     Again,  the   condition  of  the 


120  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

mind  is  still  more  difficult  to  understand,  when  you  seek  through  it  for  indica- 
tions of  what  the  young  man  is  to  become.  You  required  that  I  should  give 
you  some  certain  signs  whereby  you  can  form  an  opinion  of  which  of  your 
young  men  will  become  the  most  manly.  It  will  much  please  me  to  be  per- 
mitted to  recount  to  you  how,  upon  a  similar  occasion,  a  Moorish  king  proved 
his  three  sons,  to  ascertain  which  of  them  would  become  the  bravest  man." 

"  Relate  to  me,"  said  the  count,  "  what  that  was." 

"  My  lord,"  said  Patronio,  "  there  was  a  Moorish  king  who  had  three  sons. 
Now,  he  having  the  power  to  appoint  which  of  them  he*  pleased  to  reign  after 
him,  when  he  had  arrived  at  a  good  old  age,  the  leading  men  of  his  kingdom 
waited  upon  him,  praying  to  be  informed  which  of  his  sons  he  would  please  to 
name  as  his  successor.  The  king  replied  that  in  one  month  he  would  give 
them  an  answer. 

"  After  eight  or  ten  days  the  king  said  to  his  eldest  son,  '  I  shall  ride  out 
to-morrow,  and  I  wish  you  to  accompany  me.' 

"The  son  waited  upon  the  king  as  desired,  but  not  so  early  as  the  time 
appointed.  When  he  arrived,  the  king  said  he  wished  to  dress,  and  requested 
him  to  bring  him  his  garments.  His  son  went  to  the  Lord  of  the  Bedchamber, 
and  requested  him  to  take  the  king  his  garments.  The  attendant  inquired  what 
suit  it  was  he  wished  for;  and  the  son  returned  to  ask  his  father,  who  replied, 
his  state  robe.  The  young  man  went  and  told  the  attendant  to  bring  the  state 
robe. 

"  Now,  for  every  article  of  the  king's  attire  it  was  necessary  to  go  backwards 
and  forwards,  carrying  questions  and  answers,  till  at  length  the  attendant  came 
to  dress  and  boot  the  king.  The  same  repetition  goes  on  when  the  king  called 
for  his  horse,  spurs,  bridle,  saddle,  sword,  and  so  forth.  Now,  all  being  pre- 
pared, with  some  trouble  and  difficulty,  the  king  changed  his  mind,  and  said  he 
would  not  ride  out;  but  desired  the  prince,  his  son,  to  go  through  the  city, 
carefully  observing  everything  worth  notice,  and  that  on  his  return  he  should 
come  to  give  his  father  his  opinion  of  what  he  had  seen. 

"The  prince  set  out,  accompanied  by  the  royal  suite  and  the  chief  nobility. 
Trumpets,  cymbals,  and  other  instruments  preceded  this  brilliant  cavalcade. 
After  traversing  a  part  of  the  city  only,  he  returned  to  the  palace,  when  the 
king  desired  him  to  relate  what  most  arrested  his  attention. 

"'I  observed  nothing,  sire,'  said  he,  '  but  the  great  noise  caused  by  the 
cymbals  and  trumpets,  which  confounded  me.' 

"  A  few  days  later  the  king  sent  for  his  second  son,  and  commanded  him 
to  attend  very  early  the  next  day,  when  he  subjected  him  to  the  same  ordeal 
as  his  brother,  but  with  a  somewhat  more  favorable  result. 


GIBRALTAR.  .  121 

"Again,  after  some  days,  he  called  for  his  youngest  son's  attendance.  Now, 
this  young  man  came  to  the  palace  very  early,  long  before  his  father  was 
awake,  and  waited  patiently  till  the  king  arose,  when  he  entered  his  chamber 
with  that  respectful  humiliation  which  became  him.  The  king  then  desired 
him  to  bring  his  clothes  that  he  might  dress.  The  young  prince  begged  the 
king  to  specify  which  clothes,  boots,  and  so  forth  ;  the  same  with  all  the  other 
things  he  desired,  so  that  he  could  bring  all  at  the  same  time,  neither  would  he- 
permit  the  attendant  to  assist  him,  saying,  if  the  king  permitted  him  he  would 
feel  highly  honored,  and  was  willing  to  do  all  that  was  required. 

"  When  the  king  was  dressed,  he  requested  his  son  to  bring  him  his  horse. 
Again  the  son  asked  what  horse,  saddle,  spurs,  sword,  and  other  requisites  he- 
desired  to  have;  and  as  he  commanded,  so  it  was  done  without  trouble  or 
further  annoyance. 

"  Now,  when  all  was  ready,  the  king,  as  before,  declined  going.  He,  how- 
ever, requested  his  son  to  go,  and  to  take  notice  of  what  he  saw,  so  that  on  his 
return  he  might  relate  to  him  what  he  thought  worthy  of  notice. 

"  In  obedience  to  his  father's  commands,  the  young  prince  rode  through 
the  city,  attended  by  the  same  escort  as  his  brothers ;  but  they  knew  nothing, 
neither  did  the  younger  son.  nor  indeed  an)-  one  else,  of  the  object  the  king  had 
in  view.  As  he  rode  along,  he  desired  that  the}'  would  show  him  the  interior 
of  the  city,  the  streets,  and  where  the  king  kept  his  treasures,  and  what  was 
supposed  to  be  the  amount  thereof;  he  inquired  where  the  nobility  and  the 
people  of  importance  in  the  city  lived  :  after  this,  he  desired  that  they  should 
present  to  him  all  the  cavalry  and  infantry,  and  these  he  made  go  through  their 
evolutions ;  he  afterwards  visited  the  walls,  towers,  and  fortresses  of  the  city,  so 
that  when  he  returned  to  the  king  it  was  very  late. 

"The  king  desired  him  to  tell  him  what  he  had  seen.  The  young  prince 
replied  that  he  feared  giving  offence  if  he  stated  all  he  felt  at  what  he  had 
seen  and  observed.  Now  the  king  commanded  him  relate  everything,  as  he 
hoped  for  his  blessing.  The  young  man  replied  that  although  he  was  sure  his 
■father  was  a  very  good  king,  yet  it  seemed  to  him  he  had  not  done  as  much 
good  as  he  might,  having  such  good  troops,  so  much  power,  and  such  great 
resources ;  for,  had  he  wished  it,  he  might  have  made  himself  master  of  the 
world. 

"  Now,  the  king  felt  much  pleased  at  this  judicious  remark  of  his  son.  So 
when  the  time  arrived  that  he  had  to  give  his  decision  to  the  people,  he  told 
them  that  he  should  appoint  his  youngest  son  for  their  king,  from  the  indica- 
tions he  had  given  him  of  his  ability,  by  certain  proofs  of  fitness  to  govern,  to 
which  he  had  subjected  all  his  sons  ;  although  he  would  have  desired  to  appoint 


122  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

his  eldest  son  as  his  successor,  yet  he  felt  it  a  duty  to  select  the  one  who 
appeared  best  qualified  for  the  station. 

"  And  you,  Count  Lucanor,  if  you  desire  to  know  which  of  the  young  men 
is  the  most  promising,  you  must  reflect  on  what  I  have  related  to  you,  and,  by 
the  adoption  of  similar  means,  you  will  be  enabled  to  form  your  opinion." 

The  count  was  much  pleased  with  what  Patronio  had  said  ;  and  as  Don  Juan 
found  this  to  be  a  good  example,  he  ordered  it  to  be  written  in  this  book,  and 
with  the  following  lines  which  say:  — 

By  ways  and  works  thou  mayest  know 
Which  youths  to  worthiest  men  will  grow. 

Note.  —  This  interesting  narrative,  evidently  of  Arabic  origin,  recalls  to  us  the  heroic  tale 
related  in  the  history  of  Rodrigo  Diaz  de  Vivan,  commonly  called  the  Cid  Campeador. 
This  interesting  tale  is  immortalized  by  Corneille  in  one  of  his  best  plays.  The  story  is  as 
follows  :  The  old  Count  Diego  de  Vivan,  after  the  gross  insult  he  received  from  Count 
D'Orgaz,  called  his  three  sons  to  him,  and  forcibly  pressed  their  hands  within  his  own. 
Now,  the  two  elder  ones,  Fernando  and  Bermuda,  shrieked  out  as  if  they  had  been  seized 
by  the  gripe  of  a  lion,  whilst  Rodrigo.  the  younger,  gave  no  indication  of  pain,  but  uttered 
an  exclamation,  and  said,  "  If  you  were  not  my  father,  I  would  strike  you  !  "  To  which  the 
count  replied,  "  It  would  not  be  the  first  blow  I  have  received.  You  now  know  the 
offence  ;  see,  here  is  the  sword  ;  I  have  nothing  further  to  add.  With  my  white  hairs  I 
go  to  weep  over  my  insulted  honor,  leaving  you,  my  son,  the  duty  to  avenge  it." 

The  sentence  uttered  by  the  old  count,  addressing  his  son,  as  written  by  Corneille,  is 
truly  beautiful,  when  with  impassioned  dignity  he  exclaims,  "  Rodrique,  as-tu  du  cceur?" 
["  Rodrigo,  have  you  a  heart?  "] 

With  more  discernment.  Don  Manuel,  who  has  probably  taken  this  historical  fact  as 
the  foundation  of  his  own  story,  with  this  difference,  however,  that  in  his  recital  he  relies, 
not  as  the  Cid  upon  physical  indications,  but  after  due  investigation,  as  is  shown  in  his 
narrative,  places  his  reliance  more  upon  the  reasoning  powers  and  mental  development  of, 
as  in  the  case  of  Diego,  the  younger  son. 


WHAT    HAPPENED    TO   A   KING   WITH    A   MAN    WHO    CALLED 
HIMSELF   AN  ALCHEMIST. 

FROM   COL'XT   LUCAXOR. 

One  day  Count  Lucanor  conversed  with  Patronio  in  the  following 
manner  :  — 

"  Patronio,  a  man  came  and  told  me  he  possessed  a  secret  which  would 
enable  me  to  acquire  great  riches  and  honor,  but  that  to  begin  the  work  cer- 
tain sums  of  money  would  be  required;   and  this  being  furnished,  he  promised 


GIBRALTAR.  1 25 

to  return  me  tenfold  on  my  outlay.  Now,  since  God  has  blessed  you  with  a 
o-ood  understanding,  tell  me  what  you  think  most  desirable  to  be  done  under 
such  circumstances.'' 

■'  My  lord,"  said  Patronio,  "  in  order  that  you  may  know  how  to  act,  having 
reward  for  your  own  interest,  under  such  circumstances,  I  should  like  to  inform 
you  what  happened  to  a  king  with  a  man  who  called  himself  an  alchemist." 

The  count  desired  him  to  relate  it. 

"  There  was  once,"  said  he,  "  a  man  who,  being  a  great  adventurer,  desired 
bv  some  means  or  other  to  enrich  himself,  and  rise  out  of  the  miserable  situa- 
tion in  which  he  then  was.  Knowing  of  a  certain  king  who  taxed  his  people 
heavily,  and  was  very  anxious  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  alchemy,  he  procured 
a  hundred  doublas  and  filed  them  down,  mixing  the  gold  dust  so  procured  with 
other  metals,  and  from  this  alloy  he  made  a  hundred  false  coins,  each  weighing 
as  much  as  a  doubla.  He  then  took  a  supply  of  these  spurious  coins,  dressed 
himself  as  a  quiet  and  respectable  man,  and  went  to  the  city  where  the  king 
dwelt,  and,  entering  the  shop  of  a  grocer,  sold  to  him  the  whole  of  his  counter- 
feits for  about  two  or  three  doublas.  The  purchaser  inquired  the  name  and 
use  of  these  coins,  to  which  he  replied,  '  They  are  essential  to  the  practice  of 
alchemy,  and  are  called  tabardit.' 

"  Xow,  our  adventurer  continued  to  reside  in  this  city  for  some  time  as  a 
respectable  and  well-dressed  man,  and  it  became  circulated  as  a  secret  that  he 
knew  the  science  of  alchemy.  When  this  news  reached  the  king,  he  sent  for 
him,  and  asked  if  he  were  an  alchemist. 

"  He,  however,  appeared  as  if  anxious  to  conceal  his  knowledge,  and  replied 
that  he  was  not,  but  ultimately  admitted  that  he  was,  at  the  same  time  telling 
the  king  that  no  great  outlay  was  required;  but  that  if  his  Majesty  desired  it, 
he  could  furnish  him  with  a  little  of  the  ingredients,  and  then  show  him  all  he 
knew  of  the  science.  This  pleased  the  king  very  much,  as  it  appeared,  accord- 
ing to  the  alchemist's  representation,  that  he  would  incur  no  risk.  Our  adven- 
turer now  sends,  in  the  king's  name,  for  the  things  required,  among  them  being 
the  tabardit,  which  were  easily  procured  at  a  cost  of  not  more  than  three 
dineros,  and  when  they  were  bought  and  melted  down  before  the  king,  there 
was  produced  the  weight  of  a  doubla  of  fine  gold.  The  king  seeing  that  these 
materials  which  cost  so  little  produced  a  doubla,  was  delighted,  and  told  the 
alchemist  that  he  considered  him  to  be  a  most  worth}-  man,  giving  him  an 
order  to  make  more. 

"  Our  adventurer  replied,  as  if  he  had  no  more  information  to  give,  '  Sire,  all 
that  I  know  I  have  shown  to  you,  and  henceforth  you  will  be  able  to  do  it  as  well 
as  myself.     Nevertheless,  should  any  of  the  ingredients  be  wanting,  it  will  be 


126  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

quite  impossible  to  produce  gold.'  Saying  this,  he  departed  for  his  own 
house. 

"  The  king  now  procured  some  of  the  material  himself,  and  made  gold.  He 
then  doubled  the  quantity,  and  produced  the  weight  of  two  doublas ;  again 
doubling  this  quantity,  he  produced  four  doublas  of  gold;  and  so,  in  proportion, 
as  he  measured  the  weight  of  the  ingredients,  he  produced  an  increase  of  ""old. 
When  the  king  saw  that  he  could  make  any  quantity  of  gold  he  desired,  he 
ordered  as  much  of  the  material  to  be  brought  him  as  would  produce  a  hundred 
doublas.  So  the  quantity  was  brought  him  as  he  desired,  with  the  exception 
of  the  tarbardit,  which  could  not  be  got.  The  king,  seeing  that  the  tabardit  was 
wanting,  and  that  without  it  he  could  not  make  gold,  sent  for  the  alchemist  and 
told  him  he  was  unable  to  make  gold  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do. 

"  On  this  the  alchemist  begged  to  know  if  he  had  all  the  ingredients  the 
same  as  hitherto. 

"The  king  replied,  '  Yes,  all  except  the  tabardit.' 

"  '  Then,'  said  the  alchemist,  *  although  you  have  all  the  other  things,  yet, 
failing  this  one,  you  cannot,  as  I  told  you  at  first,  expect  to  make  gold.' 

"  The  king  then  asked  if  he  knew  where  to  procure  the  tabardit,  and  he  was 
answered  in  the  affirmative ;  the  king  then  requested  that  he  should  procure 
for  him  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make  as  much  gold  as  he  might  desire. 

"  The  alchemist  now  replied  that  an}'  other  person  could  obtain  it  as  well  as 
himself,  and  perhaps,  better;  but,  if  the  king  particularly  wished  it,  he  would 
return  for  some  to  his  own  country,  where  he  could  procure  any  amount.  The 
king  then  counted,  and  found  that,  including  all  expenses,  it  would  cost  a  large 
sum  to  procure  this  one  ingredient  :  but  he  furnished  our  adventurer  with  the 
sum  required,  and  sent  him  on  this  service. 

"  As  soon  as  the  alchemist  had  received  the  money,  he  went  away  in  great 
haste,  never  to  return. 

"  When  the  king  found  that  his  alchemist  remained  away  longer  than  he 
ought,  he  sent  his  servants  to  his  house  to  know  if  there  had  been  any  tidings 
of  him,  but  they  found  none  whatever;  but  at  his  house  was  left  a  small  chest 
which  was  locked  ;  this  they  opened,  and  in  it  they  found  a  paper  on  which 
was  written,  '  I  know  well  there  is  no  such  thing  in  the  world  as  tabardit,  but 
be  assured  that  your  Majesty  has  been  deceived.  When  I  came  to  you  and 
said  that  I  could  enrich  you,  you  ought  to  have  said  to  me,  "  First  enrich  thy- 
self, and  then  I  will  believe  thee." 

"  Some  days  after  this,  some  men  were  laughing  and  amusing  themselves 
by  writing  the  names  and  characters  of  their  friends  and  acquaintances,  saying, 
such  and    such  were  foolish,  and    of   others   in    like  manner,  good    and    bad. 


GIBRALTAR.  1 29 

Amongst  those  classed  as  imprudent  was  found  the  name  of  the  king.  When 
the  kinc  heard  of  it,  he  sent  for  the  authors  of  this  writing,  and  having  assured 
them  that  no  harm  should  come  to  them,  demanded  why  they  had  placed  his 
name  among  those  of  imprudent  men.  The)-  then  answered  him,  '  Because 
you  have  entrusted  so  much  treasure  to  a  stranger  of  whom  you  had  not  the 
least  knowledge.' 

"  The  king  replied  that  they  were  mistaken,  for  should  the  man  return  he 
would  bring  with  him  much  gold. 

"  '  Then,'  said  they,  '  our  opinion  would  lose  nothing;  for  should  he  return, 
we  will  erase  your  name  and  insert  his." 

"  And  you,  Count  Lucanor,  if  you  do  not  wish  to  be  considered  a  man  of 
weak  understanding,  must  not  risk  so  much  of  your  property  for  a  thing  that  is 
uncertain ;  otherwise  you  may  have  to  repent  sacrificing  the  certain  for  the 
uncertain." 

This  advice  pleased  the  count  much,  so  he  acted  upon  it,  and  found  the 
result  good. 

And  Don  Juan,  seeing  this  to  be  a  good  example,  ordered  it  to  be  written 
in  this  book  with  these  following  lines :  — 

"  To  venture  much  of  thy  wealth  refuse 
On  the  faith  of.  a  man  who  has  nought  to  lose." 

This  tale,  so  full  of  point  and  humor,  is,  as  we  see  in  the  paper 
found  in  the  alchemist's  trunk,  not  without  its  bearing  on  the  caution 
required  in  daily  life  to  avoid  impositions,  as  also  the  dangers  to 
which  cupidity  exposes  men  who  grasp  at  every  delusive  project  to 
gratify  their  passion  for  gain. 

It  maybe,  also,  that  Don  Manuel  desired  in  his  narrative  to  ridicule 
the  follies  of  alchemy,  to  which  his  learned  uncle,  Alfonso  XI.,  was 
much  addicted,  and  the  belief  in  which  was  so  universal  in  the  Middle 
Ao-es. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


ALGERIA.— TUNIS.  — THE    HOLIEST   PLACE   IN  AFRICA. 


CARAVAN    TALES. 

LGIERS,  crowned  by  the  ancient  fortress  of  the  deys, 
five  hundred  feet  high,  has  a  romantic  history  of  a 
thousand  years,  and  is  now  the  Paris  of  Africa,  —  a 
charming  French  city.  The  old  town  of  Algiers  is 
on  high  ground  ;  the  new  town  is  a  coast  habitation 
of  government  houses,  squares,  and  gay  streets,  in 
which  the  Place  Royale,  with  its  shadows  of  orange 
and  lime  trees,  invite  a  gay  population,  and  where  life  flows  at  full  tide 
under  the  hill  of  the  mosques  and  old  Moorish  houses. 

In  the  lower  town,  Arabs,  Moors,  Jews,  French,  Spaniards,  Ger- 
mans, and  Englishmen  gather  on  the  charming  promenades  which 
are  flanked  by  airy  colonnades.  The  city  has  a  hundred  or  more 
mosques,  and  is  Orientally  famous  for  its  marabouts,  or  tombs  of  the 
saints. 

The  street  that  leads  up  to  the  old  fortress  of  the  deys  is  called 
the  casbah.  The  houses  of  the  upper  town  are  flat-roofed,  and  without 
windows,  except  iron  gratings.  The  people  of  these  ancient  houses 
spend  their  evenings  on  the  flat  roofs,  the  bright  stars  above,  the  sea 
before,  and  the  cool  sea-breeze  constantly  blowing. 

In  1S30,  the  long  despotism  of  the  deys  came  to  an  end  in  the 
Mahometan  town,  by  the  occupation  of  the  French.  The  Turks 
withdrew  in  laro;e  numbers  to  Tunis. 


ALGIERS.  1 3  i 

The  French  had  an  ambition  to  make  Algiers  beautiful,  and  the 
city  began  to  change  into  gay  bazaars,  and  to  wear  a  Parisian  appear- 
ance. It  is  a  resort  of  wealth  and  fashion,  the  civilization  of  the  East 
having  arisen  amid  the  vanishing  crescents.  The  city  has  a  population 
of  some  fifty  thousand  people. 

The  country  of  Algeria  is  now  a  French  colony,  and  the  possession 
of  it  is  said  to  have  cost  France  the  lives  of  150,000  men.     It  has  about 


TRAVELLING   IN  ALGERIA. 


2,505,000  inhabitants,  including  some    250.000   Europeans.      Behind 
Algeria  lies  the  desert  of  Sahara. 

Algeria  at  the  close  of  the  last  century  and  the  beginning  of  the 
present,  became  a  terror  to  all  Christian  nations  by  its  corsairs  or  sea- 
robbers.  The  American  flag  having  been  insulted,  the  best  ships  of 
the  navy  were  sent  to  the  Mediterranean.  The  fleet  attacked  the 
Algerian  pirates  on  the  20th  of  June,  1S15,  and  compelled  the  Dev  to 
respect  American  shipping.     The  contest  is  called  the  Algerian  War. 


132  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

CONSULAR   COURTS  AND  THEIR   POWER. 

While  in  Algeria  Mr.  Van  der  Palm  and  Percy  visited  Tunis. 
While  there  a  very  curious  case  came  to  Percy's  notice.  An  Ameri- 
can sailor  was  brought  before  the  consul,  accused  of  the  crime  of 
murder  on  the  sea. 

"  He  will  be  tried  before  the  consul,"  said  his  father. 

"  Do  consuls  try  cases  ?  "  asked  Percy. 

"  Yes,  on  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  in  several  port  cities." 

"  Like  the  old  Roman  consuls  ?  " 

"  Yes,  their  power  resembles  that  of  old  Roman  officers." 

"  How  much  power  do  the  consuls  of  such  places  really  have?" 

Mr.  Van  der  Palm  again  quoted  the  consular  instructions,  with 
which  he  was  familiar,  after  his  long  service. 

"  Consuls  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  crimes  and  offences  committed 
by  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  Borneo,  China,  Corea,  Japan,  Madagascar, 
and  Siam.  In  Morocco,  Tripoli,  and  Tunis,  the  consuls  are  empowered  to 
assist  in  the  trials  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  accused  of  murder  or  assault. 
In  Persia,  citizens  of  the  United  States  committing  offences  are  to  be  tried  and 
judged  in  the  same  manner  as  are  the  subjects  or  citizens  of  the  most  favored 
nation.  Americans  committing  offences  in  Turkey  should  be  tried  by  their 
minister  or  consul,  and  are  to  be  punished  according  to  their  offence,  following 
in  this  respect  the  usage  observed  toward  other  Franks;  but,  in  consequence 
of  a  disagreement  as  to  the  true  text  of  the  treaty,  consuls  in  the  Ottoman 
Dominions  are  instructed  to  take  the  directions  of  the  minister  of  the  United 
States  at  Constantinople  in  all  cases  before  assuming  to  exercise  jurisdiction 
over  criminal  offences. 

"  In  China  and  Japan  the  judicial  authority  of  the  consuls  of  the  United 
States  will  be  considered  as  extending  over  all  persons,  duly  shipped  and 
enrolled  upon  the  articles  of  any  merchant  vessel  of  the  United  States,  whatever 
be  the  nationality  of  such  person.  And  all  offences  which  would  be  justiciable 
by  the  consular  courts  of  the  United  States,  where  the  persons  so  offending 
are  native-born  or  naturalized  citizens  of  the  United  States  employed  in  the 
merchant  service  thereof  are  equally  justiciable  by  the  same  consular  courts  in 
the  case  of  seamen  of  foreign  nationality. 


THE  HOLIEST  PLACE  IN  AFRICA.  I  33 

"  Seamen  serving  on  board  public  vessels  of  the  United  States,  who  have 
committed  offences  on  shore  in  Japan  and  China,  are  held  to  be  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  consuls  of  the  United  States  in  those  countries. 

What  became  of  this  particular  case,  Percy  never  learned,  as  he 
left  Algeria  in  a  few  days  for  Tunis.  The  incident  gave  him  a  clear 
view  of  the  workings  of  these  little  vice-republics,  called  consular 
offices. 

KAIRWAN. 

At  Algeria,  Percy  began  the  study  of  French.  But  here  the  reader 
may  ask  "  How  came  this  ancient  country  in  Northern  Africa  under 
the  French  rule?"     The  answer  may  be  brief:  — 

Through  a  slight  offered  to  a  consul.  In  the  reign  of  that  power- 
ful monarch,  Louis  Philippe,  the  Dey,  a  pasha  of  the  Turkish  school, 
owed  the  French  government  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  The 
creditors  asked  the  French  consul  to  demand  payment.  The  proud 
old  Dey  in  indignation  poked  his  fan  spitefully  at  the  consul,  or  some 
like  movement,  and  the  French  government  collected  the  whole  coun- 
try in  payment  of  the  debts.  The  Turks  fled  on  the  arrival  of  the 
French  army,  and  since  that  date,  deys  and  like  rulers  have  been 
very  polite  to  consuls. 

There  is  a  railway  that  runs  from  Algiers  to  Tunis ;  and  an  ancient 
road  from  Tunis  leads  the  traveller  to  Kairwan,  the  so-called  "  Holiest 
spot  in  Africa."  Mr.  Van  der  Palm  wished  to  visit  Kairwan,  and  the 
two  started  for  Tunis,  and  thence  made  their  way  to  the  holy  Moslem 
city  in  a  caravan. 

The  city  is  fabled  to  contain  five  hundred  mosques.  The  real 
number  is  less  than  a  hundred,  unless  the  shrines  or  marabouts  are 
to  be  so  regarded.  Kairwan  is  one  of  the  strangest  sights  of  the  world, 
and  the  legend  of  its  founding  is  very  queer. 

The  great  mosque  of  Kairwan  is  the  history  of  the  city.  Accord- 
ing to  the  legend,  when  the  founder  of  Kairwan  was  at  a  loss  to  know 


134  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

where  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  mosque  he  heard  a  voice  from 
heaven  which  gave  him  directions.  The  country  was  full  of  wild 
beasts  at  the  time,  and  these  all  gathered  themselves  together,  and  in 
honor  of  the  Prophet  (Mahomet)  marched  away  in  a  miraculous 
army,  to  the  wonder  of  the  faithful. 

With  a  consul  from  Tunis,  Mr.  Van  der  Palm  and  Percy  entered 
this  wonderful  mosque.  Over  the  walls  of  the  prayer-chamber,  the 
consul  translated  the  following  inscription  from  Arabic. 

"  Cursed  is  he  who  shall  count  these  pillars,  for  verily  he  shall  lose 
his  sight." 

The  pillars  are  the  products  of  the  spoils  of  Africa.  There  were 
two  most  splendid  ones  very  near  together,  and  it  is  claimed  that  if 
one  squeeze  through  these,  he  may  enter  Paradise.  Percy  passed 
through,  but  his  father  and  the  fat  consul  were  unable  to  secure  the 
Mahometan  promise. 

"  Fat  people  do  not  go  to  paradise,"  said  the  consul. 

Percy's  eyes  roamed  about  the  forest  of  pillars.  His  mind  seemed 
engaged  in  some  mathematical  calculation. 

"Well,  my  son,  how  many  pillars  are  there?"  asked  his  father,  as 
the  three  travellers  put  on  their  shoes  at  the  door. 

"Just  one  hundred  and  ninety-four,"  was  the  prompt  reply. 

"  But  your  eyes  ?  " 

"  They  smart !  " 

"  So  do  mine,"  answered  his  father. 

But  nothing  worse  than  this  happened  to  Percy.  Perhaps  he  did 
not  count  the  pillars  correctly.  It  is  claimed  that  there  are  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety-six. 


S3 


m 


AN    ALGERIAN    ANTELOPE-HUNTER. 


CARAVAN  STORIES.  137 

THE    WIND-RIDER. 

(FROM    FOLKLORE    AND    LEGENDS,    RUSSIAN    AND    POLISH.) 

A  MAGICIAN  was  once  upon  a  time  much  put  out  with  a  young  countryman ; 
and  being  in  a  great  rage,  he  went  to  the  man's  hut  and  stuck  a  new  sharp  knife 
under  the  threshold.     While  he  did  so  he  cursed  the  man,  saying,  — 

"  May  this  fellow  ride  for  seven  years  on  the  fleet  storm-wind,  until  he  has 
gone  all  around  the  world." 

Now,  when  the  peasant  went  into  the  meadows  in  order  to  carry  the  hay, 
there  came  suddenly  a  gust  of  wind.  It  quickly  scattered  the  hay,  and  then 
seized  the  peasant.  He  endeavored  in  vain  to  resist;  in  vain  he  sought  to 
cling  to  the  hedges  and  trees  with  his  hands.  Do  what  he  would,  the  invisible 
power  hurried  him  forwards. 

He  flew  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  like  a  wild  pigeon,  and  his  feet  no  more 
touched  the  ground.  At  length  the  sun  set,  and  the  poor  fellow  looked  with 
hungry  eyes  upon  the  smoke  which  curled  up  from  the  chimney  in  his  village. 
He  could  almost  touch  them  with  his  feet,  but  he  called  and  screamed  in  vain, 
and  all  his  wailing  and  complaints  were  useless.  No  one  heard  his  lamentation, 
no  one  saw  his  tears. 

So  he  went  on  for  three  months,  and  what  with  thirst  and  hunger  he  was 
dried  up  and  almost  a  skeleton.  He  had  gone  over  a  good  deal  of  ground  by 
that  time,  but  the  wind  most  often  carried  him  over  his  native  village. 

He  wept  when  he  saw  the  hut  in  which  dwelt  his  sweetheart.  He  could  see 
her  busied  about  the  house.  Sometimes  she  would  bring  out  some  dinner  in 
a  basket.  Then  he  would  stretch  out  his  dried-up  hands  to  her,  and  vainly  call 
her  name.  His  voice  would  die  away ;  and  the  girl,  not  hearing  him,  would  not 
look  up. 

He  fled  on.  The  magician  came  to  the  door  of  his  hut,  and  seeing  the  man, 
cried  to  him,  mockingly,  — 

"  You  have  to  ride  for  seven  years  yet,  flying  over  this  village.  You  shall 
go  on  suffering,  and  shall  not  die." 

"  O  my  father,"  said  the  man,  "  if  I  ever  offended  you,  forgive  me  !  Look  ! 
my  lips  are  quite  hard  ;  my  face,  my  hands,  look  at  them !  I  am  nothing  but 
bone.     Have  pity  upon  me." 

The  magician  muttered  a  few  words,  and  the  man  stopped  in  his  course. 
He  stayed  in  one  place,  but  did  not  yet  stand  on  the  ground. 

"  Well,  you  ask  me  to  pity  you,"  said  the  magician.  "  And  what  do  you 
mean  to  give  me  if  I  put  a  stop  to  your  torment?  " 


138  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  All  you  wish,"  said  the  peasant,  and  he  clasped  his  hands,  and  knelt  down 
in  the  air. 

"  Will  you  give  me  your  sweetheart,"  asked  the  magician,  "so  that  I  may 
have  her  for  my  wife?  If  you  will  give  her  up,  you  shall  come  to  earth 
again." 

The  man  thought  for  a  moment,  and  said  to  himself,  "  If  I  once  get  on  the 
earth  again,  I  may  see  if  I  cannot  do  something."  So  he  said  to  the  magi- 
cian, "  Indeed,  you  ask  me  to  make  a  great  sacrifice,  but  if  it  must  be  so,  it 
must." 

The  magician  then  blew  at  him,  and  the  man  came  to  the  ground.  He  was 
very  pleased  to  find  the  earth  once  more  under  his  feet,  and  to  have  escaped 
from  the  power  of  the  wind.  Oft"  he  hurried  to  his  hut,  and  at  the  threshold  he 
met  his  sweetheart.  She  cried  aloud  with  amazement  when  she  saw  the  long- 
lost  peasant  whom  she  had  so  long  lamented  and  wept  for.  With  his  skinny 
hands  the  man  put  her  gently  aside,  and  went  into  the  house,  where  he  found 
the  farmer  who  had  employed  him,  sitting  down,  and  said  to  him  as  he 
commenced  to  weep,  — 

"  I  can  no  longer  stay  in  your  service,  and  I  cannot  marry  your  daughter. 
I  love  her  very  much,  —  as  much  as  the  apple  of  my  eye,  —  but  I  cannot  marry 
her." 

The  old  farmer  wondered  to  see  him ;  and  when  he  saw  his  white  pinched 
face  and  the  traces  of  his  suffering,  he  asked  him  why  he  did  not  wish  for  the 
hand  of  his  daughter. 

The  man  told  him  all  about  his  ride  in  the  air,  and  the  bargain  he  had  made 
with  the  magician.  When  the  farmer  had  listened  to  it  all,  he  told  the  poor 
fellow  to  keep  a  good  heart,  and  putting  some  money  in  his  pocket,  went  out 
to  consult  a  sorceress. 

Toward  evening  he  returned  very  merry,  and  taking  the  peasant  aside,  said 
to  him, — 

"  To-morrow  morning  before  day,  go  to  the  witch,  and  you  will  find  all  will 
be  well." 

The  wearied  peasant,  who  had  not  slept  for  three  months,  went  to  bed,  but 
he  woke  before  it  was  day,  and  went  oft"  to  the  witch.  He  found  her  sitting 
beside  the  hearth  boiling  herbs  over  a  fire.  She  told  him  to  stand  by  her,  and, 
suddenly,  although  it  was  a  calm  day,  such  a  storm  of  wind  arose  that  the  hut 
shook  again. 

The  sorceress  then  took  the  peasant  outside  into  the  yard  and  told  him  to 
look  up.  He  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  —  oh,  wonder  !  —  saw  the  evil  magician 
whirling  round  and  round  in  the  air. 


CARAVAN  STORIES.  I  39 

"  There  is  your  enemy,"  said  the  woman ;  "  he  will  trouble  you  no  more.  It' 
you  would  like  to  see  him  at  your  wedding,  I  will  tell  you  what  to  do ;  but  he 
must  suffer  the  torment  that  he  meant  to  put  you  to." 

The  peasant  was  delighted,  and  ran  back  to  the  house ;  and  a  month  later 
he  was  married.  While  the  wedding-folk  were  dancing,  the  peasant  went  out 
into  the  yard,  looked  up,  and  saw  right  over  the  hut  the  magician,  turning 
round  and  round.  Then  the  peasant  took  a  new  knife,  and  throwing  it  with 
all  his  force,  stuck  it  in  the  magician's  foot. 

He  fell  at  once  to  the  ground,  and  the  knife  held  him  to  the  earth  so  that 
he  could  only  stand  at  the  window  and  see  how  merry  the  peasant  and  his 
friends  were. 

The  next  day  he  had  disappeared,  but  he  was  afterwards  seen  flying  in  the 
air  over  a  lake.  Before  him  and  behind  him  were  flocks  of  ravens  and  crows ; 
and  these,  with  their  hoarse  cries  heralded  the  wicked  magician's  endless  ride 
on  the  wind. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  TERRESTRIAL  PARADISE  OF  SHEDDAD. 
THE  SON  OF  'A'D. 

A  Tale  of  the  Moorish  Quarters  of  Eastern  Coast  Cities. 

It  is  related  that  'Abd  Allah,  the  son  of  Aboo  Kilabeh,  went  forth  to  seek 
a  camel  that  had  run  away,  and  while  he  was  proceeding  over  the  deserts  of 
El-Yeman  and  the  district  of  Seba,  he  chanced  to  arrive  at  a  vast  city  encom- 
passed by  enormous  fortifications,  around  the  circuit  of  which  were  pavilions 
rising  high  into  the  sky.  So  when  he  approached  it  he  imagined  that  there 
must  be  inhabitants  within  it,  of  whom  he  might  inquire  for  his  camel  ;  and 
accordingly  he  advanced,  but  on  coming  to  it  he  found  that  it  was  desolate, 
without  any  one  to  cheer  its  solitude. 

"I  alighted,"  says  he,  "from  my  she-camel,  and  tied  up  her  foot;  and 
then,  composing  my  mind,  entered  the  city.  On  approaching  the  fortifications 
I  found  that  they  had  two  enormous  gates,  the  like  of  which,  for  size  and 
height,  have  never  been  seen  elsewhere  in  the  world,  set  with  a  variety  of  jewels 
and  jacinths,  white  and  red,  and  yellow  and  green  ;  and  when  I  beheld  this,  I  was 
struck  with  the  utmost  wonder  at  it,  and  the  sight  astonished  me.  I  entered 
the  fortifications  in  a  state  of  terror  and  with  a  wandering  mind,  and  saw  them 
to  be  of  the  same  large  extent  as  the  city,  and  to  comprise  elevated  pavilions, 
every  one  of  these  containing  loft)'  chambers,  and  all  of  them  constructed  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  adorned  with  rubies  and  chrysolites  and  pearls  and  various- 


140  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   OiX  THE  MEDITERRA.XEAN. 

colored  jewels.  The  folding-doors  of  these  pavilions  were  like  those  of  the 
fortifications  in  beauty,  and  the  floors  were  overlaid  with  large  pearls,  and  with 
balls  like  hazel-nuts,  composed  of  musk  and  ambergris  and  saffron.  And  when 
I  came  into  the  midst  of  the  city,  I  saw  not  in  it  a  created  being  of  the  sons 
of  Adam;  and  I  almost  died  of  terror.  I  then  looked  down  from  the  summits 
of  the  lofty  chambers  and  pavilions,  and  saw  rivers  running  beneath  them;  and 
in  the  great  thoroughfare-streets  of  the  city  were  fruit-bearing  trees  and  tall 
palm-trees.  And  the  construction  of  the  city  was  of  alternate  bricks  of  gold 
and  silver ;  so  I  said  within  myself,  no  doubt  this  is  the  paradise  promised  in 
the  world  to  come. 

"  I  carried  away  of  the  jewels,  which  were  as  its  gravel,  and  the  musk  that 
was  as  its  dust,  as  much  as  1  could  bear,  and  returned  to  my  district,  where 
I  acquainted  the  people  with  the  occurrence.  And  the  news  reached 
Mo'awiyeh,  the  son  of  Aboo  Sufyan  (who  was  then  caliph),  in  the  Hejaz  ;  so 
he  wrote  to  his  lieutenant  in  San  'a  of  El-Yemen,  saying,  '  Summon  that  man, 
and  inquire  of  him  the  truth  of  the  matter!  '  His  lieutenant  therefore  caused 
me  to  be  brought,  and  demanded  of  me  an  account  of  my  adventure,  and  of 
what  had  befallen  me ;  and  I  informed  him  of  what  I  had  seen.  He  then 
sent  me  to  Mo'awiyeh,  and  I  acquainted  him  also  with  that  which  I  had  seen, 
but  he  disbelieved  it  ;  so  I  produced  to  him  some  of  those  pearls  and  the  little 
balls  of  ambergris  and  musk  and  saffron.  The  latter  retained  somewhat  of 
their  sweet  scent ;  but  the  pearls  had  become  yellow  and  discoloured. 

"  At  the  sight  of  these  Mo'awiyeh  wondered,  and  he  sent  and  caused  Kaab 
el-Ahbar  to  be  brought  before  him,  and  said  to  him,  '  O  Kaab  el-Ahbar,  I 
have  called  thee  on  account  of  a  matter  of  which  I  desire  to  know  the  truth, 
and  I  hope  that  thou  mayest  be  able  to   certify  me  of  it.' 

"  '  And  what  is  it,  O  Prince  of  the  Faithful?  '  asked  Kaab  el-Ahbar. 

"  Mo'awiyeh  said,  '  Hast  thou  any  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  a  city  con- 
structed of  gold  and  silver,  the  pillars  whereof  are  of  chrysolite  and  ruby,  and 
the  gravel  of  which  is  of  pearls,  and  of  balls  like  hazel-nuts,  composed  of 
musk  and  ambergris  and  saffron?  ' 

"  He  answered, '  Yes,  O  Prince  of  the  Faithful !  It  is  Irem  Zat-el-'Emad,  the 
like  of  which  hath  never  been  constructed  in  the  regions  of  the  earth ;  and 
Sheddad,  the  son  of  'A'd  the  Greater,  built  it.' 

"  '  Relate  to  us,'  said  Mo'awiyeh,  '  somewhat  of  its  history.' 

"  And  Kaab  el-Ahbar  replied  thus:  — 
"''A'd  the   Greater  had  two  sons,  Shedeed  and  Sheddad ;    and  when  their 
father  perished  they  reigned  conjointly  over  the  countries  after  him,  and  there 
was  no  one  of  the  kings  of  the  earth  who  was  not  subject  to  them.     And   She- 


AX    ALGERIAN    BEAUTV. 


CARAVAN  STORIES.  1 43 

deed  the  son  of  'A'd  died,  so  his  brother  Sheddad  ruled  alone  over  the  earth 
after  him.  He  was  fond  of  reading  the  ancient  books;  and  when  he  met  with 
the  description  of  the  world  to  come,  and  of  paradise,  with  its  pavilions  and 
lofty  chambers,  and  its  trees  and  fruits,  and  of  the  other  things  in  paradise,  his 
heart  enticed  him  to  construct  its  like  on  the  earth,  after  this  manner  which 
hath  been  above  mentioned.  He  had  under  his  authority  a  hundred  thousand 
kings,  under  each  of  whom  were  a  hundred  thousand  valiant  chieftains;  and 
under  each  of  these  were  a  hundred  thousand  soldiers.  And  he  summoned 
them  all  before  him,  and  said  to  them,  "  I  find  in  the  ancient  books  and  his- 
tories the  description  of  the  paradise  that  is  in  the  other  world,  and  I  desire  to 
make  its  like  upon  the  earth.  Depart  ye  therefore  to  the  most  pleasant  and 
most  spacious  vacant  tract  in  the  earth,  and  build  for  me  in  it  a  city  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  spread,  as  its  gravel,  chrysolites  and  rubies  and  pearls,  and  as  the 
supports  of  the  .vaulted  roofs  of  that  city  make  columns  of  chrysolite  and  fill  it 
with  pavilions,  and  over  the  pavilions  construct  lofty  chambers,  and  beneath 
them  plant,  in  the  by-streets  and  great  thoroughfare  streets,  varieties  of  trees 
bearing  different  kinds  of  ripe  fruits,  and  make  rivers  to  run  beneath  them  in 
channels  of  gold  and  silver.' 

"  To  this  they  all  replied,  '  How  can  we  accomplish  that  which  thou  hast 
described  to  us,  and  how  can  we  procure  the  chrysolites  and  rubies  and  pearls 
that  thou  hast  mentioned?  ' 

"  But  he  said,  '  Know  ye  not  that  the  kings  of  the  world  are  obedient  to  me 
and  under  my  authority,  and  that  no  one  who  is  in  it  disobeyeth  my 
command?  ' 

"They  answered,  '  Yes,  we  know  that.' 

"  '  Depart  then,'  said  he,  '  to  the  mines  of  chrysolite  and  ruby,  and  to  the 
places  where  pearls  are  found,  and  gold  and  silver,  and  take  forth  and  collect 
their  contents  from  the  earth,  and  spare  no  exertions.  Take  also  for  me,  from 
the  hands  of  mine,  such  of  those  things  as  ye  find,  and  spare  none,  nor  let 
any  escape  you  ;   and  beware  of  disobedience  !  ' 

"He  then  wrote  a  letter  to  each  of  the  kings  in  the  regions  of  the  earth, 
commanding  them  to  collect  all  the  articles  of  the  kinds  above  mentioned  that 
their  subjects  possessed,  and  to  repair  to  the  mines  in  which  these  things  were 
found,  and  extract  the  precious  stones  that  they  contained,  even  from  the  beds 
of  the  seas.  And  they  collected  the  things  that  he  required  in  the  space  of 
twenty  years;  after  which  he  sent  forth  the  geometricians  and  sages,  and 
laborers  and  artificers,  from  all  the  countries  and  regions,  and  they  dispersed 
themselves  through  the  deserts  and  wastes,  and  tracts  and  districts,  until  they 
came  to  a  desert  wherein  was  a  vast  open  plain,  clear  from  hills  and  mountains, 


144  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  OX  THE  MEDITERRAiXEAX. 

and  in  it  were  springs  gushing  forth,  and  rivers  running.  So  they  said,  '  This 
is  the  kind  of  place  which  the  king  commanded  us  to  seek,  and  called  us  to 
find.' 

"  The)' then  busied  themselves  in  building  the  city  according  to  the  directions 
of  the  King  Sheddad,  king  of  the  whole  earth,  in  its  length  and  breath  ;  and 
they  made  through  it  the  channels  for  the  rivers,  and  laid  the  foundations 
conformably  with  the  prescribed  extent.  The  kings  of  the  various  districts  of 
the  earth  sent  thither  the  jewels  and  stones,  and  large  and  small  pearls,  and 
carnelian  and  pure  gold,  upon  camels  over  the  deserts  and  wastes,  and  sent 
great  ships  with  them  over  the  seas  ;  and  a  quantity  of  those  things,  such  as 
cannot  be  described,  nor  calculated,  nor  defined,  was  brought  to  the  work- 
men, who  laboured  in  the  construction  of  this  city  three  hundred  years.  And 
when  they  had  finished  it,  they  came  to  the  king  and  acquainted  him  with  the 
completion;  and  he  said  to  them,  '  Depart,  and  make  around  it  impregnable 
fortifications  of  great  height,  and  construct  around  the  circuit  of  the  fortifica- 
tions a  thousand  pavilions,  each  with  a  thousand  pillars  beneath  it,  in  order 
that  there  may  be  in  each  pavilion  a  vizier.' 

"  So  the}-  went  immediately,  and  did  this  in  twenty  years  ;  after  which  they 
presented  themselves  before  Sheddad,  and  informed  him  of  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  desire. 

"  He  therefore  ordered  his  viziers,  who  were  a  thousand  in  number,  and 
his  chief  officers,  and  such  of  his  troops  and  others  as  he  confided  in,  to  make 
themselves  read}-  for  departure,  and  to  prepare  themselves  for  removal  to 
Irem  Zat-el-'Emad,  in  attendance  upon  the  king  of  the  world,  Sheddad,  the 
son  of  'A'd.  And  they  passed  twenty  years  in  equipping  themselves.  Then 
Sheddad  proceeded  with  his  troops,  rejoiced  at  the  accomplishment  of  his 
desire,  until  there  remained  between  him  and  Irem  Zat-el-'Emad  one  day's 
journey,  when  God  sent  down  upon  him  and  upon  the  obstinate  infidels  who 
accompanied  him  a  loud  cry  from  the  heaven  of  His  power,  and  it  destroyed 
them  all  by  the  vehemence  of  its  sound.  Neither  Sheddad  nor  any  of  those 
who  were  with  him  arrived  at  the  city,  or  came  in  sight  of  it,  and  God  obliter- 
ated the  traces  of  the  road  that  led  to  it;  but  the  city  remaineth  as  it  was  in  its 
place  until  the  hour  of  the  judgment !  ' 

"  At  this  narrative,  related  by  Kaab  el-Ahbar,  Mo'awiyeh  wondered,  and 
he  said  to  him,  '  Can  any  one  of  mankind  arrive  at  that  city?  ' 

"  '  Yes,'  answered  Kaab  el-Ahbar;  '  a  man  of  the  companions  of  Mahomet 
(upon  whom  be  blessing  and  peace!),  in  appearance  like  this  man  who  is 
sitting  here,  without  any  doubt.'  Esh-Shaabee  also  saith,  '  It  is  related,  on  the 
authoritv  of  the  learned    men  of  Hemyer,   in  El-Yemen,  that  when  Sheddad 


CARAVAN  STORIES.  1 45 

and  those  who  were  with  him  were  destroyed  by  the  loud  cry,  his  son  Sheddad 
the  Less  reigned  after  him ;  for  his  father,  Sheddad  the  Greater,  had  left  him 
as  successor  to  his  kingdom,  in  the  land  of  Hadramot  and  Seba,  on  his  depar- 
ture with  the  troops  who  accompanied  him  to  Irem  Zat-el-'Emad.  And  as 
soon  as  the  news  reached  him  of  the  death  of  his  father,  on  the  way  before  his 
arrival  at  the  city  of  Irem,  he  gave  orders  to  carry  his  father's  body  from  those 
desert  tracts  to  Hadramot,  and  to  excavate  the  sepulchre  for  him  in  a  cavern. 

"  And  when  they  had  done  this,  he  placed  his  body  in  it,  upon  a  couch  of 
gold,  and  covered  the  corpse  with  seventy  robes,  interwoven  with  gold  and 
adorned  with  precious  jewels;  and  he  placed  at  his  head  a  tablet  of  gold, 
whereon  were  inscribed  these  verses :  — 

"'  Be  admonished,  O  thou  who  art  deceived  by  a  prolonged  life  ! 
I  am  Sheddad,  the  son  of  'A'd,  the  lord  of  a  strong  fortress, 
The  lord  of  power  and  might,  and  of  excessive  valor. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  earth  obeyed  me,  fearing  my  severity  and  threats  ; 
And  I  held  the  East  and  West  under  a  strong  dominion. 
And  a  preacher  of  the  true  religion  invited  us  to  the  right  way ; 
But  we  opposed  him,  and  said,  Is  there  no  refuge  from  it? 
And  a  loud  cry  assaulted  us  from  a  tract  of  the  distant  horizon  ; 
Whereupon  we  fell  down  like  corn  in  the  midst  of  a  plain  at  harvest ; 
And  now,  beneath  the  earth,  we  await  the  threatened  day.' 

"  Eth-Tha'alibee  also  saith,  '  It  happened  that  two  men  entered  this  cavern, 
and  found  at  its  upper  end  some  steps,  and  having  descended  these,  they  found 
an  excavation,  the  length  whereof  was  a  hundred  cubits  and  its  breadth  forty 
cubits,  and  its  height  a  hundred  cubits.  And  in  the  midst  of  this  excavation 
was  a  couch  of  gold,  upon  which  was  a  man  of  enormous  bulk,  occupying  its 
whole  length  and  breadth,  covered  with  ornaments  and  with  robes  interwoven 
with  gold  and  silver;  and  at  his  head  was  a  tablet  of  gold,  whereon  was  an 
inscription.  And  they  took  that  tablet,  and  carried  away  from  the  place  as 
much  as  they  could  of  bars  of  gold  and  silver  and  other  things.'  " 


CHAPTER    VII. 

MARSEILLES. 

"MARSEILLES  is  the  French  port  of  the  world.  The 
winding  ways  of  its  harbor  are  something  of  a  zigzag 
journey.  It  is  said  that  there  are  but  three  safe 
ports  on  the  Mediterranean  :  "  Carthagena,  June, 
and  JtilyT  To  these  safe  ports  may  perhaps  be 
added  Marseilles.  The  city  is  very  ancient,  and  its 
modern  history  is  associated  with  patriotism.  It  was  the  soldiers 
from  Marseilles  who  first  voiced  that  great  trumpet  tone  of  liberty, 
"The  Marseilles  Hymn." 

Percy  learned  many  things  in  the  consular  offices  at  Marseilles 
which  gave  him  clear  views  of  marine  law  in  case  of  injustice  at  sea. 
He  became  a  pupil  here  of  a  French  consular  clerk,  and  was  now  in 
full  training  as  a  consular  pupil.  He  saw  here  for  the  first  time 
marriages  performed  in  the  presence  of  consuls,  and  the  dead  bodies 
and  the  effects  of  those  dying  while  travelling  cared  for  by  the  consuls 
of  the  parts  of  the  world  to  which  the  deceased  belonged. 

There  came  a  case  before  the  American  consulate  in  which  a 
sailor  claimed  that  he  had  been  defrauded  by  his  captain  at  sea. 
What  would  the  consul  ? 

While  the  case  was  pending,  Percy  went  to  his  father  to  have  him 
explain  consular  jurisdictions  in  cases  of  the  ill-usage  of  sailors. 

"  The  ship  is  the  consul's  territory,"  said  his  father.  "  So  you  may 
see  how  wide  his  power  is,  and  how  closely  his  office  resembles  that  of 
the   consuls  of    old    Roman    republican   days.      In    cases    of    abusive 


PUBLIC    GARDEN,    MARSEILLES. 


MA  RSEILLES.  1 49 

treatment  it  is  the  sailor's  right  and  privilege  to  see  the  consul  as 
soon  as  he  conies  to  port.  No  captain  has  a  right  to  forbid  him  from 
laying  his  case  before  the  consul.     The  law  runs  like  this : — 

"  '  The  right  of  the  seaman  to  lay  his  complaint  before  the  consular  officer 
in  a  foreign  port  is  one  of  great  importance  to  him,  and  is  carefully  protected 
by  the  courts.  When  a  seaman  files  a  libel  in  a  court  of  admiralty  and  mari- 
time jurisdiction,  alleging  that  the  master  had  maltreated  him  while  in  the 
service  of  the  ship,  and  his  allegations  are  proved,  the  court  decrees  damages 
in  accordance  with  the  facts.  And  if  it  appears  that  the  master  denied  the 
seaman  liberty  to  lay  his  complaints  before  the  consular  officer  in  a  foreign 
port,  such  denial  is  an  aggravation  of  his  offence  and  enhances  the  amount  ot 
the  decree.  And  in  particular  instances,  by  act  of  Congress,  a  penalty  is 
imposed  upon  a  master  who  refuses  his  crew  the  right  to  lay  their  complaints 
before  the  consul. 

"'The  consular  officer  is  regarded  as  the  adviser  and  counsel  of  the  seamen, 
and  it  is  enjoined  upon  him  to  see  that  the  latter  is  unrestricted  in  the  privilege 
to  submit  his  complaint.  If  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  seaman  is  restrained 
in  any  way  from  appearing  at  the  consulate,  in  order  to  prevent  his  application 
to  the  consular  officer,  the  latter  will  not  wait  for  the  complaint,  but  will  at  once 
proceed  on  board  or  take  the  proper  steps  to  secure  his  appearance  before  him. 
The  investigation  of  these  cases  is  often  tedious,  the  evidence  is  apt  to  be  con- 
flicting, and  the  consular  officer  will  require  the  use  of  all  his  good  judgment, 
forbearance,  discretion,  and  good  temper.' 

A  volume  of  stories  might  be  written  on  the  consular  mails. 
Letters  to  sailors  are  directed  in  the  care  of  the  consuls  ;  these  letters, 
when  uncalled  for,  are  kept  one  year,  then  sent  to  Washington. 

It  is  with  an  anxious  face  that  the  sailor  usually  asks  the  consul 
for  letters.  The  memories  of  mothers,  fathers,  wives,  children,  sweet- 
hearts, of  old  roof-trees,  or  some  holy  and  tender  memories  rush  in 
upon  the  mind  of  the  inquirer. 

"  Are  there  anyivherc  for  me  ?  "  asked  a  sailor  of  the  English  consul 
at  Marseilles. 

"  Your  name  ?  " 

"  Henry  Moore." 


150  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  No  —  nothing —  none." 

"  The  world  is  nothing  to  me,  or  I  am  nothing  to  the  world.  I  am 
one  of  the  none.      I  sail." 

While  at  Marseilles,  there  came  to  the  American  consul  some 
poor  travellers  for  letters,  but  there  were  none.  Their  means  were 
exhausted  and  the  consul  is  not  allowed  to  furnish  money  to  travellers 
at  the  government  charge,  whatever  may  be  their  condition.  It  was 
found  on  inquiry  thar  the  people  were  from  the  Canadian  maritime 
provinces,  and  so  their  case  was  referred  to  the  English  consul.  He 
could  do  nothing  for  them  officially,  but  it  was  resolved  to  give  a 
concert  for  them  in  the  English  quarters,  and  to  sing  the  songs  and 
read  the  poems  of  the  sea.  A  call  was  made  for  amateur  singers,  and 
Percy  responded. 

"  What  will  you  give  us  ?  "  asked  the  English  consul. 

"  Two  poems  that  relate  to  the  hardships  of  the  sea,"  was  the 
answer. 

The  concert  was  successful.  It  brought  the  travellers  money 
enough  to  take  them  third  class  to  London.  One  of  Percy's  selections 
for  reading  was  as  follows  :  — 

THE    CASTAWAY. 

[Edwin,  the  halt'  brother  of  Athelstan,  King  of  the  Saxons,  was  the  rightful  heir  to  the  throne.  On 
the  accession  of  Athelstan  he  was  a  mere  boy,  and  his  claim  caused  much  dissension  among  the  nobles. 
Athelstan  wished  to  get  rid  of  him  without  committing  palpable  murder,  and  at  last,  in  a  moment  of 
passion,  ordered  that  he  should  be  pushed  out  to  sea  in  a  leaky  boat  without  oars.  The  rest  of  the  story 
is  told  in  the  poem.] 

Tiif  Saxon  monarch  from  his  throne 
Looked  through  the  light  pavilion 
Upon  the  level  sea.  that  shone 

Beneath  the  sky  vermilion. 
"  Go,  bring  the  captive  boy  !  "  he  said. 

They  brought  him,  bound  and  bleeding, 
With  moistened  cheek  and  bended  head, 
And  lips  for  mercy  pleading. 

Then  said  a  chief  of  high  renown. 
The  monarch  on  him  frowning, 


MARSEILLES.  1,5 1 

"To  whom  in  right  belongs  the  crown 

The  sun  himself  is  crowning." 
And  Edwin,  there  on  bending  knee, 

The  sun  shone  brightly  over ; 
While  Athelstan  gazed  on  the  sea,  — 

The  foaming  sea  of  Dover. 

The  twilight  sunshine  dimmed  ;  and  far 

The  moon,  her  disk  uplifting, 
Came  goddess-like,  her  silver  car 

Along  the  waters  drifting. 
And  as  on  high  she  moved  and  shone 

The  great  pavilion  over, 
Athelstan,  from  his  shadowed  throne, 

Looked  on  the  sea  of  Dover. 

"Go,  take  the  boy!"  at  last  he  cried, 

Half  from  the  order  shrinking; 
"And  when  outgoes  the  evening  tide. 

And  low  the  moon  is  sinking, 
Put  him  in  yonder  boat  hard  by 

Upon  the  ocean  border, 
And  loose  it !     He  shall  live  or  die, 

As  God  himself  shall  order  !  " 

Next  morn  a  hundred  anxious  eyes 

Were  strained  the  waters  over. 
As  rose  the  sun  in  stormless  skies 

Upon  the  sea  of  Dover. 
There  lightly,  near  the  troubled  land, 

The  boat  was  seaward  drifting, 
And  beckoned  there  a  little  hand, 

In  vain  for  help  uplifting. 

Far,  far  to  sea  it  drifts,  it  drifts, 

All,  all  that  summer  morning; 
And,  lo  !  a  sudden  cloud  uplifts 

Its  shadow  like  a  warning. 
Far,  far  to  sea,  the  wind-swept  waves 

Grow  dark  and  deep  and  dreary ; 
And  hard  the  rocks  the  ocean  laves 

Where  stand  the  watchers  weary. 

To  him  no  more  the  nobles  fair 

The  tribute  due  will  render, 
Nor  sunset  leave  upon  his  hair 

Her  coronet  of  splendor. 


152  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

Night  o'er  the  sobbing  billows  crept, 
And  stilled  their  wild  commotion  ; 

But  ere  the  morn  young  Edwin  slept 
Beneath  the  foaming  ocean. 

And  once,  when  summers  four  had  rolled 

The  solemn  convent  over, 
Old  Whitesand's  shaded  peaks  of  gold, 

And  silvered  peaks  of  Dover, 
The  minstrels  playing  sweet  and  low, 

A  tender  strain  awaking, 
Athelstan's  tears  were  seen  to  rlow 

As  though  his  heart  was  breaking. 

"  Four  times  to  yonder  convent  lone 

The  birds  have  crossed  the  seas, 
And  wandering  airs  of  gentle  tone 

Have  breathed  ?mid  blooming  trees. 
Four  times  on  yonder  convent  towers 

The  snows  have  fallen  deep 
Since  maidens  strewed  the  place  with  flowers 

Where  Edwin's  ashes  sleep. 

"  I  sit  and  muse  beside  the  sea 

When  hangs  the  moon  above  ; 
The  silvered  tide  comes  back  to  me, 

But  not  a  brother's  love. 
A  vanished  life  still  haunts  my  dreams 

When  minstrel  harps  attune, 
And  on  the  shadowy  convent  gleams 

The  solitary  moon. 

" '  Gone  !  Gone  ! '  it  murmurs  in  the  wood, 

It  sobs  amid  the  seas ; 
And  lonely  hours  and  solitude 

Are  terrible  to  me. 
I  call  my  minstrels,  and  they  sing, 

But  when  the  strains  depart, 
I  feel  I  am  a  crownless  king, 

Discrowned  of  joy  at  heart. 

"  The  years  will  come,  the  years  will  go, 

But  never  at  my  door 
The  fair-haired  boy  I  used  to  meet 

Will  smile  upon  me  more  ; 


MARSEILLES.  1 53 

But  memory  long  will  hear  the  fall 

Of  steps  at  eventide, 
And  in  each  saddened  hour  recall 

The  year  when  Edwin  died. 

'•  I  cleave  the  serried  walls  of  shields, 

The  nobles'  standards  true-, 
I  strew  with  dead  the  Northern  fields, 

The  Scottish  chiefs  subdue; 
Vet  when  the  moon  —  a  silver  sun  — 

Rolls  o'er  the  Tweed  and  Dee, 
The  evening  song  for  victory  won 

Returns  no  joy  to  me. 

"  Oh,  I  would  give  a  crown  to  view 

The  face  of  heaven  again, 
And  walk  the  fruited  earth  anew, 

Unstained  'mid  stainless  men. 
The  years  will  come,  the  years  will  go, 

The  birds  will  cross  the  sea, 
But  calm  delights  that  others  know 

Will  ne'er  return  to  me." 

THE   CONSULAR   PRISONER. 

At  the  English  consulate  at  Marseilles  Percy  heard  many  curious 
stories  told.  Among  them  there  was  one  that  was  so  remarkable  as 
to  long  haunt  his  memory. 

"  What  is  the  strangest  incident  that  ever  happened  in  your  con- 
sular experience  ?  "  asked  an  English  consular  clerk  of  an  old  English 
consul,  who  was  smoking  leisurely  in  the  office. 

"  It  was  the  escape  of  a  consular  prisoner  named  Wombut  or 
Wombetta.     They  called  him  Wombat. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  that  night.  I  can  see  the  scene  now. 
Wombetta  was  accused  of  robbery,  and  I  had  detained  him  under 
guard  in  the  consular  office.  The  ship's  crew  to  which  he  belonged 
were  still  at  the  dock,  waiting  to  sail.  The  ship,  the  "  Victoria,"  had 
received  her  papers. 

"  I  was  sitting  alone  in  my  private  room,  reading,  when  there 
suddenly  came  a  loud  knocking  at  the  door. 


154  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  '  Come  in,'  I  said. 

"  A  stout  man  entered  wearing  a  great  cloak. 

"  '  Please,  your  honor,  may  I  see  Wombat  before  we  sail  ? ' 

"  '  Have  you  any  particular  business  with  him  ? ' 

"  '  Yes,  your  honor.' 

"  '  Cannot  you  leave  the  matter  with  me  ? ' 

"  '  No,  your  honor  ;  it  is  confidential.     It  is  only  a  word  with  him.' 

"  The  guard  stood  outside  of  the  door.  I  was  in  an  easy,  good- 
humored  mood,  and  somewhat  preoccupied,  and  I  said  to  the  guard : 

"  '  Let  him  pass.' 

"  The  man  in  the  cloak  passed  in  and  closed  the  door.  I  heard 
some  strange  movements,  when  I  was  suddenly  brought  to  my  feet  by 
the  report  of  a  pistol. 

"  The  guard  threw  open  the  door,  and  a  stranger  sight  never  met 
my  eyes.  The  man  in  the  great  cloak  apparently  stood  before  me 
with  Wombat  on  his  shoulders.  I  saw  Wombat's  boots  projecting 
forward,  so  ;  his  hat  tilted  back,  so ;  and  the  stranger's  cloak  was  thrown, 
or  seemed  to  be  thrown,  over  his  body. 

"  There  came  a  muffled  voice  from  this  strange  figure. 

"  '  I  've  shot  him  ;  let  me  carry  him  into  the  air.' 

"  I  thought  it  was  the  voice  of  the  stranger. 

"  The  guard  opened  his  mouth,  and  stood  like  one  petrified. 

"  The  figure  moved  out  of  the  room.  I  saw  Wombat's  boots  dis- 
tinctly, and  I  did  not  dream  that  they  were  not  on  his  legs.  I  saw 
Wombat's  old  felt  hat,  and  I  thought  it  was  on  the  head  of  the  dying 
man. 

'"  Hold!'  said  I. 

"  '  Let  go  into  the  air  ! '  said  the  figure  in  an  awful  voice. 

"  I  lost  my  senses,  and  opened  the  door. 

"  What  followed  was  marvellous  indeed.  I  would  never  trust  my 
own  eyes  again. 

"  The  cloak  fell,  and   beside   it  a  pair  of  boots.     The  figure  all 


MARSEILLES.  1 55 

dropped  to  pieces  and  out  of  it  emerged  a  man,  hatless  and  bootless, 
who  ran  down  the  street  crying  '  Murder!  ' 

"  I  started  to  follow  him,  and  the  guard  to  follow  me,  when  a 
second  man  came  flying  out  of  the  guard  room  into  the  court,  leaped 
over  a  fence  and  was  lost  in  the  darkness. 

I  looked  before  me  and  behind  me.     So  did  the  guard. 
'  What  !  '  said  I. 
'  Wha-a-at !  '  said  he. 
"  '  Were  there  three  of  them  ?  '  said  I.    - 

Heaven  defend  us  ! '  said  he. 
"  '  What  has  happened  ?  '  asked  I. 

Heaven  only  knows,'  said  he. 
"  '  Where  is  the  prisoner  ?  '  asked  I. 

•  You  let  him  escape,'  said  he. 
Which  ?  '  asked  I. 

" '  You  may  ask  your  own  eyes,'  said  he. 
'"  He  has  escaped!'  said  I. 
' '  Where  ? '  said  he. 

•  Who  ? '  said  I. 
'  You  will  never  see  any  of  them  again,'  said  he.     'Ah,  but  and 

he  was  a  slick  one  !  ' 

•Which?'  asked  I. 
"  '  All  three  of  them  !  '  said  he. 

'  How  many  were  there  ? '  asked  I. 

'  Three  —  two  —  one,'  said  he. 

I  accepted  the  report.     The  ship  sailed  that  night,  and   I  never 
saw  Wombat  or  any  of  them  again  ! " 


"i     455% 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CONSULAR   PETS   AND    PARROTS. 

VERY  consul's  office  has  a  pet,  and  that  pet  is  com- 
monly a  parrot,"  saicl  Percy  to  his  father  one  day 
at  Marseilles. 

"  No,  not  every  consul's  office.  I  seldom  kept 
pets  when  I  was  a  consul.  But  what  you  say  is, 
in  a  sense,  true." 
"Are  consuls,  as  a  class,  lovers  of  natural  history?" 
"  I  do  not  know  that  they  are  when  they  are  first  appointed.  But 
as  a  rule  they  come  to  be  so.  The  pets  and  parrots  that  one  finds 
in  many  consular  offices  are  usually  gifts  from  the  people  of  the  coun- 
tries in  which  the  consuls  reside.  A  generous  consul  makes  many 
friends  among  the  people  of  his  foster  country,  and  these  are  likely  to 
make  him  presents  of  any  curious  animals  or  birds  in  which  he  may 
show  an  interest.  Many  consuls  lead  a  kind  of  bachelor  life,  and 
pets  are  company ;  so  consuls  come  to  be  not  only  story-tellers  but 
amateur  naturalists.  They  may  be  presented  with  guinea  pigs,  mar- 
mosets, curious  dogs,  brilliant  macaws,  cockatoos,  and  parrots  that  can 
say  odd  things,  or  sing  snatches  of  patriotic  songs.  In  the  East  he 
may  even  be  offered  a  camel  or  an  elephant ;  in  South  America,  a 
boa. 

"  The  consuls'  offices  at  Gibraltar  were  full  of  little  animals  and 
strange  birds.  Here  they  are  museums  of  natural  history ;  one  finds 
in  them  all  sorts  of  things.  I  think  consular  offices  are  among  the 
most  interesting  places  in  the  world. 


CONSULAR  PETS  AND   PARROTS.  1 57 

"  Let  me  tell  you  of  some  of  the  strange  pets  that  I  have  known  to 
be  given  to  consuls  ;  I  doubt  that  you  ever  so  much  as  heard  of  many 
of  them  :  — 

"A  chimpanzee,  a  chinchilla,  a  chrysochloris  capenses,  a  didelphys, 
a  dormouse,  an  edensate,  an  echidna,  ferrets,  foxes,  flying  squirrels, 
guinea  pigs,  martens,  lemmings,  lynex,  a  gacchus,  a  lemur,  a  maki, 
otters,  pebas,  porcupines,  sables,  a  silky  tamarine,  wombats,  turtles, 
shells,  queer  fishes,  and  birds  of  many  kinds  and  voices." 

"  They  would  fill  a  story  book,"  said  Percy.  "  I  can  form  no  idea  of 
many  of  them.  I  have  noticed  that  consuls  like  to  tell  stories  of  their 
pets." 

"  Especially  of  their  parrots,"  said  Mr.  Van  der  Palm.  "  Almost 
every  consul  has  had  some  wonderful  parrot." 

"  That  said  strange  things  ?  "  said  Percy. 

"Yes,  like  the  parrots  of  the  old  sailors  from  the  Spanish  main." 

"  Did  you  have  your  parrot  story  when  you  were  a  consul  ?  " 

"  Yes,  although  it  was  not  about  one  of  my  own  parrots,  but  one  that 
lived  in  an  old  New-England  town  in  the  days  of  the  whalers.  I  once 
related  it  to  a  story-writer,  and  he  published  it  in  verse,  with  some  good 
pictures.    You  shall  see  it." 

THE   PARROT  FROM    THE   SPANISH    MAIN;    OR,   THE    OLD 
RED    SETTLE    BY   THE    FIRE. 

Ox  Dorchester  Bay  the  hills  were  blue, 

And  the  Milton  meadows  were  green  and  red  ; 

There  the  bobolinks  toppled  at  morn  in  the  dew, 

And  high  in  the  air  the  osprevs  flew. 

And  the  killdees  screamed,  and  the  lone  sea-mew, 

In  the  dusky  eves  o'er-head. 

There  were  violets  blue  in  the  frosts  of  spring. 

And  gentians  blue  in  the  frosts  of  fall. 

There  the  church  bells  rung  with  a  mellow  tone  ; 

And  the  Quaker  meeting-house,  shy  and  lone, 

Hid  in  the  bv-wavs  walled  with  stone, 

Where  rang  no  bell  at  all. 

There  the  farmer's  corn  fields  turned  to  trold. 


158  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


And  the  blue-jays  laughed  his  cribs  to  see; 
And  his  heart  and  hearth  were  never  cold, 
When  the  north  winds  came,  and  the}'  stories  told 
On  the  old  red  settle  by  the  fire, 
In  the  old  Thanksgiving  Days. 

That  old  red  settle  each  night  was  brought 
Before  the  winter  hearth.     Ah  me  ! 
'T  was  there  my  youthful  mind  was  taught 
My  A  B  ABS  and  the  Rule  of  Three. 
What  wondrous  things  that  settle  knew! 
Were  ever  elsewhere  such  stories  told 
Since  the  caliphs'  halls  of  airy  gold  ? 
Of  the  Northmen's  bark  of  the  silver  wing 
That,  dragon-headed,  came  into  the  bay 
A  thousand  years  ago,  one  dav. 
From  the  moonless  fiords  of  Norroway, 
And  brought  the  bride  of  a  king; 
Of  Francis  Drake  and  his  golden  ship, 
Of  Captain  Kidd  and  his  bloody  whip. 
And  Mrs.  Dunstan's  awful  fate, 
And  Peter  Rugg,  and  Nix's  mate ; 
Of  the  Judge's  Cave  ;  of  the  witches  that  flew 
Through  the  hole  in  the  sky  where  the  rain  came  through. 


CONSULAR  PETS  AXD  PARROTS. 


*59 


I  would  not  be  so  scared  again 

For  all  the  apples  they  roasted  there, 

Or  all  the  logs  that  used  to  flare 

On  the  drying  pumpkins  and  peppers  red, 

And  the  Almanac  of  Fate  that  said 

'T  would  surely  snow  in  March  and  blow. 

How  could  "  Poor  Richard"  such  wise  things  know  ! 

The  waves  were  blue  on  Dorchester  Bay  : 
The  birds,  the  flowers,  the  shells,  were  blue  ; 
Blue  lay  the  grapes  upon  the  walls  ; 
Blue  smoked  the  chimneys  on  the  Charles ; 
And  when  the  still  nights  longer  grew, 
The  fire  upon  the  hearth  burned  blue. 
Then  on  the  settle  we  all  would  sit, 
With  Grandma  in  her  gown  of  gray, 
And  gaze  on  Grandpa"s  silhouette, 
The  mourning  piece,  and  sampler  gay,  — 
Rare  works  of  art,  they  said,  were  they. 
And  there,  while  Grandma's  eyes  grew  wet, 
We  'd  plan  for  the  great  Thanksgiving  Day. 
"  I  wish  they  'd  all  come  back,"  said  she, 
"  And  pass  one  hour  again  with  me, 
And  be  just  as  they  used  to  be. 
Ruth  sleeps  beneath  the  sod;  and  Ben  —  " 
We  never  spoke  of  Ben,  for  lie 
Was  the  one  black  sheep  of  the  family. 
He  owed  a  note  that  he  could  not  pay, 
And  they  sued  him,  and  he  ran  away 
And  went  to  sea ;  and  wicked  arts 
He  learned,  no  doubt,  in  foreign  parts. 
So  Grandpa  w'illed  his  lands  to  the  others: 
And  they  met  each  year,  —  four  prosperous  brothers,  — 
And  the  family  legends  proudly  told 
On  the  old  red  settle  by  the  fire 
In  the  old  Thanksgiving  Days. 


Ben's  parrot  was  there,  —  an  awful  bird ! 
'•  Hey,  Betty  Martin  !  "  in  meeting  he  sung. 

To  the  shame  and  scandal  of  all  who  heard ; 

And  the  children  laughed,  because  they  were  younj; 

And  Grandma,  speaking  not  a  word, 

Poor  Polly  hid  in  the  gay  valance 

That  Ben  had  brought  from  the  port  of  Nantes. 

She  knew  that  the  bird  was  true  to  Ben, 

And  that  only  one  other  heart  was  true  ; 


i6o 


ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


And  her  love  for  the  bird  with  her  sad  years  grew. 
And  they  both  wished  the  boy  would  come  home  again. 

A  wonder  came,  —  town-meeting  day, 

In  the  great  March  storm,  and  the  Federals  won  ! 

Men  went  to  the  folkmote  in  the  sleigh, 

And  Grandpa  went  in  his  dashaway ; 

And  lieutenant-governor  they  made  of  John. 

(He  was  Grandpa  Jarvis's  likeliest  son.) 

Oh,  then  the  old  man  powdered  his  wig 

And  shod  his  cane,  —  there  were  grand  times  then,  — 

And  he  rode  to  town  in  his  Sunday  gig 

On  a  Monday  morning,  and  said  with  delight, 

To  all  that  he  met,  to  the  left  and  right, 

That  John  had  atoned  for  the  shame  of  Ben. 


A  grand  Thanksgiving  they  planned  that  year, 

And  John,  in  the  turnpike  coach,  came  down 

From  the  General  Court  in  Boston  town. 

What  times  were  those  !     You  should  have  seen 

The  roasted  pig  and  the  basted  geese. 

The  succotash  and  pumpkin  bread, 

The  great  clam  chowder  with  pepper  red. 


CONSULAR   PETS  AND   PARROTS.  l6l 

The  apple-dumplings,  bounteous  ones, 

With  potato  crusts  !  the  pies,  the  buns, 

The  cranberry-tarts  and  gingerbread, 

The  quartered  quince,  the  pickles  green  ! 

The)'  herring-boned  the  chamber  floors, 

And  open  set  the  parlor  doors. 

I  never  knew  a  year  like  that  ! 

The  harvest  air  was  full  of  jays. 

The  red  woodpecker  went  rat-a-tat, 

And  the  Quaker  smiled  'neath  his  Sunday  hat, 

And  they  set  the  settle  by  the  fire. 

Oh,  those  good  Thanksgiving"  Days  ! 

What  know  the  birds  ?     I  cannot  tell. 
They  once  were  augurs  thought  to  be,  — 
The  prophets  of  the  air  and  sea. 
Now,  when  that  fall  the  neep-tides  fell, 
And  scallops  came,  and  airs  were  mild, 
Polly  would  scream  the  name  of  Ben, 
Then  listen  strangely  like  a  child. 
Was  Ben's  ship  coming  home  again  ? 

Thanksgiving  came,  —  a  perfect  day 

On  Milton  Hills  and  Dorchester  Bav. 

The  chimneys  smoked  that  morning  brown, 

The  tables  smoked  that  afternoon. 

And  after  church  the  sun  went  clown. 

And  rose  above  the  sea  the  moon. 

The  mighty,  meal  was  brought,  and  there 

Grandpa  arose  with  silver  hair. 

And  spread  his  hands  to  offer  prayer. 

Four  brothers  knelt  there  in  a  row. 

Grandchildren  eight,  and  uncles  three. 

The  back-log  set  the  room  aglow. 

And  all  was  still ;  the  clock  ticked  slow. 

"  God  of  all  mercies,  thee  we  praise  !  " 

So,  in  a  deep  voice,  Grandpa  spoke. 

The  sea  upon  the  shingle  broke. 

And  made  us  think  of  other  davs. 

"  Thou  makest  thy  sun  to  rise  on  all  ; 

On  all  thou  makest  the  rain  to  fall. 

Our  mercies  fail ;  thine  faileth  not ; 

None  of  thy  children  are  forgot." 

I  heard  a  step  :  the  gate  latch  fell. 

The  bucket  rattled  at  the  well ; 

Then  some  one  passed  the  latticed  pane, 

Then  to  the  lattice  came  again. 


162  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

And  listened  to  the  rolling  prayer. 

1  saw  the  parrot  shake  and  stare. 

It  seemed  a  spirit-haunted  place. 

The  face  close  to  the  window  drew. 

The  bird's  neck  long  and  longer  grew. 

And  burned  her  eyes  ;  and  then  —  oh.  then  — 

Who  could  of  such  a  wonder  dreamed  ? 

She  three  times  flapped  her  wings,  and  screamed, 

"  Hey,  Betty  Martin,  tiptoe  fine  ! 

Ho,  Dandy  Jim,  o'  Caroline  ! 

Ho  !  ho  !  high-oh  !     'T  is  Ben  !  't  is  Ben  ! 

Grandma,  Grandma,  't  is  Ben  !  't  is  Ben  !  " 

Who  ever  saw  a  scene  like  that  ? 

Right  in  the  prayer  a  scene  like  that  ? 

Grandpa  forgot,  and  shouted,  "  Scat ! " 

And  Deacon  Brown,  who  'd  come  from  town, 

Rolled  up  his  eyes  in  pious  wonder  ; 

And  John  said,  "  Hippographs  and  thunder  !" 

And  the  children  hid  the  table  under. 

But  Grandma  softly  rose,  and  took 

The  cage  into  the  porch.     And  there  — 

There  came  another  mystery. 

A  dark  man  met  her  from  the  sea. 

"  Do  you  know  Ben  ?  "  he  whispered  low. 

'•  He  was  my  boy  ;  and  who  are  you  ?" 

"  Where'er  the  winds  for  me  may  blow, 

My  heart  is  to  my  mother  true, 

And  I  will  always  pray  for  you. 

Take  that,  and  pay  Ben's  debts,"  said  he. 

"  My  boat  is  waiting  on  the  shore. 

God  bless  you  all  for  evermore ! 

I  "ve  longed  that  sight  once  more  to  see. 

I  '11  go  away,  and  thankful  be 

You've  such  a  happv  family. 

Ask  father  to  give  thanks  for  me." 

Then  he  was  gone,  and  Grandma  old 

Came  in,  and  brought  a  purse  of  gold. 

Lord  !  how  we  stared  !     The  cat  was  scared, 

And  ran  and  hid.     And  Grandpa  said, 

"  Where  is  that  bird  ?  "     They  searched  the  shed, 

They  searched  the  wood-house,  searched  the  green, 

The  well,  the  barn,  the  orchard  ways, 

But  Polly  nevermore  was  seen. 

Then  Grandma  rose  — her  face  was  calm  : 
Her  look  uplifted  was  a  psalm  — 


CO.XSULAR   PETS  A.XD   PARROTS. 


163 


And  said,  with  quivering  lip  and  chin, 
And  one  hand  lilted,  white  and  thin  : 
■•  So  near  the  grave  we  all  are  living, 
So  near  God's  doors,  let  's  be  forgiving. 
The  best  of  all  our  days  of  praise, 
God  knows,  are  our  forgiving  days." 


'T  was  strange,  but  Grandpa  said,  "  Amen  I 

And  Silas  the  bass-viol  strung. 

And  gave  a  twang,  and  then  we  sung 

As  if  the  gabled  roof  to  raise  : 

"  Sweet  is  the  work,  my  God.  my  King, 

To  praise  thy  name,  give  thanks,  and  sing. 

Oh,  may  mv  heart  in  tune  be  found. 

Like  David's  harp  of  solemn  sound !  " 

And  these  last  lines  a  dozen  times 

We  turned  around  and  turned  around. 

Sweet  are  all  homes  where  love  has  been, 

And  only  good  lips  utter  praise  : 

But  such  a  psalm  I  never  knew 


164 


ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


In  all  the  homes  of  Milton  blue, 

When  'mid  the  frosts  the  gentians  grew, 

And  set  the  settle  by  the  lire, 

In  the  old  Thanksgiving  Days. 

On  Dorchester  Bay  the  hills  are  blue, 

But  the  purple  swallows  come  no  more 

To  haunt  the  house  that  once  I  knew  ; 

The  mossy  grave-stones  on  the  shore. 

That  sink  into  the  violets'  floor, 

Are  all  that 's  left  of  that  old  home 


Whose  virtues  found  so  much  to  praise. 

There  Grandma  sleeps  beneath  the  yews; 

Ben  sleeps  afar  in  Barbadoes. 

Yet  Milton's  hills  are  fair  to  see  ; 

And  Grandma's  plea  for  charity 

Brings  back  life's  sweetest  thoughts  to  me, 

That  come  as  came  the  gentians  blue 

To  frosty  meadows  by  the  bays 

When  stood  the  settle  by  the  fire. 

So  near  God's  open  doors  we  're  living, 

So  near  the  heartache  for  forgiving, 

We  offer  up  our  best  thanksgiving. 

And  gain  from  Heaven  our  best  desire. 

On  our  Forgiving  Days. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


VENICE. 


the  sea : 


ENICE,  the  Bride  of  the  Sea!  The  traveller  may 
hardly  know  when  he  arrives  at  Venice  from  the 
Adriatic.  The  city  seems  to  float  upon  the  sea.  In 
the  old  days  of  the  doges,  she  used  to  he  wedded 
to  it  by  yearly  ceremonies.  The  city  of  the  la- 
goons  seems   at  a  little  distance   to   be  rising  from 

•■  From  out  the  wave  her  structures  rise 
As  from  the  stroke  of  the  enchanted  wand." 


The  Grand  Canal  is  her  principal  water-street,  over  which  hangs 
the  great  bridge  of  the  Rialto.  On  a  "  hundred  isles,"  if  poetry  were 
history,  stands  Venice,  or  rather,  "  sits  in  state."  The  streets  are 
narrow  alleys,  paved  with  flag-stones  and  overhung  with  glowing 
balconies.      Her  bridges  are  airy  structures  of  life  and  light. 

Her  carriages  are  "  water  ponies,"  or  gondolas ;  and  in  other  days 
these  were  painted  black  by  law,  and  many  of  them  to-day  still  follow 
the  color  of  the  days  of  romance  and  story.  The}'  are  usually  pro- 
pelled by  a  single  gondolier.  Four  persons,  as  a  rule,  may  ride  in 
each.  These  sit  in  a  little  apartment  of  windows,  blinds,  and  divans. 
The  fare  is  about  a  shilling  an  hour  for  a  passenger. 

The  state  entrance  to  Venice  from  the  sea  is  the  piazza  of  the 
church  of  St.  Mark,  with  its  piazette.  Here  rise  the  granite 
columns,  each  of  a  single  block,  one  of  which  is  crowned  with   the 


1 66 


ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


winged  lion  of  Saint  Mark  in  bronze.     Between   these  two  columns 
criminals  were  executed  in  the  dark  days  of  the  doges. 

The  square  of  St.  Mark  is  almost  the  only  open  ground  in 
Venice.  It  is  usually  thronged  with  people.  Napoleon  is  said  to  have 
called  it  the  most  beautiful  spot  on  earth. 


KEAT    BRIDGE    OF    RIAI.TO. 


The  famous  church  of  St.  Mark,  which  is  the  reputed  tomb  of 
the  bones  of  Saint  Mark,  the  writer  of  the  second  Gospel,  gathered 
to  itself  every  known  form  of  beauty  in  the  architecture  of  all  lands. 
It  is  Byzantine,  Roman,  Greek,  and  Gothic,  —  a  pantheon  of  art.  It 
rose  more  than  a  thousand  years  ago,  under  the  architects  of 
Constantine.     Over  its  doors  stand  the  famous  bronze  horses  of  St. 


VENICE. 


16; 


Mark,  once  carried  to  Constantinople  by  Theodosius,  once  the  spoil  of 
France,  but  always  a  marvel  of  human  art. 

The  church  is  a  forest  of  pillars,  and  marbles  of  all  the  East,  of 
jasper,  agate,  and  gems.  Over  all  rises  the  campanile,  a  square  tower 
three  hundred  feet  high.  Here  Galileo  made  sure  of  his  wonderful 
discoveries. 

The  old  ducal  palace  is    the  £■ 

wonder  tale  of  the  East.  Here 
was  the  Hall  of  the  Council  of 
Ten.  Here  are  the  portraits  of 
the  doges  of  forgotten  glory 

The  palaces  of  Venice  are 
built  on  piles.  They  are  usually 
constructed  of  marble,  and  are 
four  stories  high. 

Venice  has  been  called  the 
paradise  of  the  sea.  It  has  for 
centuries  been  regarded  as  a 
most  delightful  place  of  resi- 
dence. The  salt  water  and  the 
movement  of  the  tides  keep  it 
health)'. 

The  port,  or  consular  part  of 
Venice,  consists  of  islands  of  the 
shallows  Merchant  vessels  move 
in  sight  of  the  old  palace,  and 
sometimes  come  into  the  Grand 
Canal.     The  harbor  is  protected 

by  a  mole,  constructed  of  a  peculiar  stone   resembling  marble.      The 
harbor  of  Venice  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  in  the  world. 

St.  Mark's  Place,  Venice,  has  been  a  story-telling  pleasure 
ground   for   a   thousand   years.      Here  people    of    all   eastern    nations 


PIGEONS    OF    ST.    MARK'S. 


i68 


ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


congregate,  and  relate  the  marvels  of  their  own  lands,  in  the  cool 
breezes  of  the  sea.  English  and  French  people  love  to  loiter  here, 
and  the  Turk  and  Mahometan  as  well.  It  is  a  park  common  to  all 
the  ports  of  the  Adriatic. 


VENETIAN    GLASS. 


In  Venice,  Percy,  for  the  first  time,  saw  money  paid  for  the  relief 
of  some  American  seamen  who  had  been  brought  to  the  port  on  an 
Italian  vessel. 

"  How  are  consuls  provided  with  money  to  meet  such  wants  ?  "  he 
asked  his  father  one  evening  on  St.  Mark's  Place. 

"  By  special  appropriations  by  Congress.  For  example,  among  the 
latest  provisions  to  meet  the  expenses  of  consulates,  I  may  quote  :  — 


-■ 


FOOT    OF    FLAGSTAFF    IN    FRONT    OF    SAINT    MARKS,  VENICE. 


i7i 


Relief  and  Protection  of  American  Seamen. 

Relief  and  protection  of  American  seamen  in  foreign  countries,  or  so  much 
thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

Foreign  Hospitals  at  Panama. 

Annual  contributions  toward  the  support  of  foreign  hospitals  at  Panama, 
to  be  paid  by  the  Secretary  of  State  upon  the  assurance  that  suffering  sea- 
men and  citizens  of  the  United  States  will  be  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  said 
hospitals,  five  hundred  dollars. 

Publication  of  Consular  and  Commercial  Reports. 

Preparation,  printing,  publication,  and  distribution,  by  the  Department  of 
State,  of  the  consular  and  other  commercial  reports,  including  circular  letters 
to  chambers  of  commerce,  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

Contingent  Expenses  of  United  States  Consulates. 

Expenses  of  providing  all  such  stationer}',  blanks,  record  and  other  books, 
seals,  presses,  flags,  signs,  rent,  postage,  furniture,  statistics,  newspapers,  freight 
(foreign  and  domestic),  telegrams,  advertising,  messenger  service,  travelling 
expenses  of  consular  clerks,  Chinese  writers,  and  such  other  miscellaneous 
expenses  as  the  President  may  think  necessary  for  the  several  consulates  and 
commercial  agencies  in  the  transaction  of  their  business,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars. 

Percy  saw  the  manner  of  providing  funds,  which  he  might  have 
learned  from  the  consular  book.  He  now,  as  a  consular  pupil,  began 
to  study  the  forms  of  consular  book-keeping. 

TALES    OF    ORIENTALS    AT   VENICE. 

THE    MAN    WHO    NEVER    LAUGHED. 

THERE  was  a  man,  of  those  possessed  of  houses  and  riches,  who  had  wealth 
and  servants  and  slaves  and  other  possessions  ;  and  he  departed  from  the  world 
to  receive  the  mercy  of  God  (whose  name  be  exalted  ! ),  leaving  a  young  son. 
And  when  the  son  grew  up,  he  took  to  eating  and  drinking,  and  the  hearing  of 
instruments  of  music  and  songs,  and  was  liberal  and  gave  gifts,  and  expended 


172  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

the  riches  that  his  father  had  left  to  him  until  all  the  wealth  had  gone.  He  then 
took  himself  to  the  sale  of  the  male  black  slaves,  and  the  female  slaves,  and 
other  possessions,  and  expended  all  that  he  had  of  his  father's  wealth  and  other 
things,  and  became  so  poor  that  he  worked  with  the  laborers.  In  this  state  he 
remained  for  a  period  of  years.  While  he  was  sitting  one  da)'  beneath  a  wall, 
waiting  to  see  who  would  hire  him,  lo  !  a  man  of  comely  countenance  and 
apparel  drew  near  to  him  and  saluted  him. 

So  the  youth  said  to  him,  "  O  uncle,  hast  thou  known  me  before  now?  " 

The  man  answered  him,  "  I  have  not  known  thee,  0  my  son,  at  all ;  but  I 
see  the  traces  of  affluence  upon  thee,  though  thou  art  in  this  condition." 

The  young  man  replied,  "  O  uncle,  what  fate  and  destiny  have  ordained  have 
come  to  pass.  But  hast  thou,  O  uncle,  O  comely-faced,  any  business  in  which 
to  employ  me?  " 

The  man  said  to  him,  "  O  my  son,  I  desire  to  employ  thee  in  an  easy 
business." 

The  youth  asked,  "And  what  is  it,  O  uncle?" 

And  the  man  answered  him,  "  I  have  with  me  ten  sheykhs  in  one  abode,  and 
we  have  no  one  to  perform  our  wants.  Thou  shalt  receive  from  us,  of  food  and 
clothing,  what  will  suffice  thee,  and  shalt  serve  us,  and  thou  shalt  receive  of  us 
thy  portion  of  benefits  and  money.  Perhaps,  also,  God  will  restore  to  thee  thine 
affluence  by  our  means." 

The  youth  therefore  replied,  "  I  hear  and  obey." 

The  sheykh  then  said  to  him,  "  I  have  a  condition  to  impose  upon  thee." 

"  And  what  is  thy  condition,  O  uncle?"  asked  the  youth. 

He  answered  him,  "  O  my  son,  it  is  that  thou  keep  our  secret  with  respect 
to  the  things  that  thou  shalt  see  us  do ;  and  when  thou  seest  us  weep,  that  thou 
ask  us  not  respecting  the  cause  of  our  weeping." 

And  the  young  man  replied,  "Well,  O  uncle." 

So  the  sheykh  said  to  him,  "  O  my  son,  come  with  us,  relying  on  the  bless- 
ing of  God  (whose  name  be  exalted  !)." 

And  the  young  man  followed  the  sheykh  until  the  latter  conducted  him  to 
the  bath;  after  which  he  sent  a  man,  who  brought  him  a  comely  garment  of 
linen,  and  he  clad  him  with  it,  and  went  with  him  to  his  abode  and  his  associ- 
ates. And  when  the  young  man  entered,  he  found  it  to  be  a  high  mansion, 
with  lofty  angles,  ample,  with  chambers  facing  one  another,  and  saloons ;  and 
in  each  saloon  was  a  fountain  of  water,  and  birds  were  warbling  over  it,  and 
there  were  windows  overlooking,  on  every  side,  a  beautiful  garden  within  the 
mansion.  The  sheykh  conducted  him  into  one  of  the  chambers,  and  he  found 
it  decorated  with  colored  marbles,  and  its  ceiling  ornamented  with  blue  and 


VENICE. 


brilliant  gold,  and  it  was  spread  with  carpets  of  silk  ;  and  he  found  in  it  ten 
sheykhs  sitting  facing  one  another,  wearing  the  garments  of  mourning,  weeping 
and  wailing.     So  the  young  man  wondered  at  their  case,  and  was  about  to  ques- 


MASQUERADING   IN   VENICE. 


tion  the  sheykh  who  had  brought  him,  but  he  remembered  the  condition,  and 
therefore  withheld  his  tongue.  Then  the  sheykh  committed  to  the  young  man 
a  chest  containing  thirty  thousand  pieces  of  gold,  saying  to  him,  "  O  my  son, 


174  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX  THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

expend  upon  us  out  of  this  chest,  and  upon  thyself,  according  to  what  is  just, 
and  be  thou  faithful,  and  take  care  of  that  wherewith  I  have  intrusted  thee." 

And  the  young  man  replied,  "  I  hear  and  obey." 

He  continued  to  expend  upon  them  for  a  period  of  days  and  nights,  after 
which  one  of  them  died  ;  whereupon  his  companions  took  him,  and  washed 
him  and  shrouded  him,  and  buried  him  in  a  garden  behind  the  mansion.  And 
death  ceased  not  to  take  them  one  after  another,  until  there  remained  only  the 
sheykh  who  had  hired  the  young  man.  So  he  remained  with  the  young  man  in 
that  mansion,  and  there  was  not  with  them  a  third,  and  they  remained  thus  for 
a  period  of  years. 

Then  the  sheykh  fell  sick ;  and  when  the  young  man  despaired  of  his  life, 
he  addressed  him  with  courtesy,  and  was  grieved  for  him,  and  said  to  him,  "  O 
uncle,  I  have  served  you,  and  not  failed  in  your  service  one  hour  for  a  period  of 
twelve  years,  but  have  acted  faithfully  to  you,  and  served  you  according  to  my 
power  and  ability." 

The  sheykh  replied,  "Yes,  O  my  son,  thou  hast  served  us  until  these 
sheykhs  have  been  taken  unto  God,  (to  whom  be  ascribed  might  and  glory!) 
and  we  must  inevitably  die." 

And  the  young  man  said,  "  O  my  master,  thou  art  in  a  state  of  peril,  and  I 
desire  of  thee  that  thou  inform  me  what  hath  been  the  cause  of  your  weeping 
and  the  continuance  of  your  wailing  and  your  mourning  and  your  sorrow." 

He  replied,  "  O  my  son,  thou  hast  no  concern  with  that,  and  require  me  not 
to  do  what  I  am  unable  ;  for  I  have  begged  God  (whose  name  be  exalted  ! )  not 
to  afflict  any  one  with  my  affliction.  Now,  if  thou  desire  to  be  safe  from  that 
into  which  we  have  fallen,  open  not  that  door,"  and  he  pointed  to  it  with  his 
hand,  and  cautioned  him  against  it;  "  and  if  thou  desire  that  what  hath  befallen 
us  should  befall  thee,  open  it,  and  thou  wilt  know  the  cause  of  that  which  thou 
hast  beheld  in  our  conduct;  but  thou  wilt  repent,  when  repentance  will  not 
avail  thee." 

Then  the  illness  increased  upon  the  sheykh,  and  he  died ;  and  the  young 
man  washed  him  with  his  own  hands,  and  shrouded  him,  and  buried  him  by 
his  companions. 

He  remained  in  that  place,  possessing  it  and  all  the  treasure;  but  notwith- 
standing this,  he  was  uneasy,  reflecting  upon  the  conduct  of  the  sheykhs.  And 
while  he  was  meditating  one  day  upon  the  words  of  the  sheykh  and  his  charge 
to  him  not  to  open  the  door,  it  occurred  to  his  mind  that  he  might  look  at  it. 
So  he  went  in  that  direction,  and  searched  until  he  saw  an  elegant  door,  over 
which  the  spider  had  woven  its  web,  and  upon  it  were  four  locks  of  steel. 

When  he  beheld  it,  he  remembered  how  the  sheykh  had  cautioned  him,  and 


VENICE.  I  7  7 

he  departed  from  it.  His  soul  desired  him  to  open  the  door,  and  he  restrained 
it  during  a  period  of  seven  days  ;  but  on  the  eighth  day  his  soul  overcame  him, 
and  he  said,  "  I  must  open  that  door,  and  see  what  will  happen  to  me  in  conse- 
quence ;  for  nothing  will  repel  what  God  (whose  name  be  exalted  ! )  decreeth 
and  predestineth,  and  no  event  will  happen  but  by  His  will." 

Accordingly  he  arose  and  opened  the  door,  after  he  had  broken  the  locks. 
And  when  he  had  opened  the  door  he  saw  a  narrow  passage,  along  which  he- 
walked  for  the  space  of  three  hours;  and  lo  !  he  came  forth  upon  the  bank  of 
a  great  river.  At  this  the  young  man  wondered.  And  he  walked  along  the 
bank,  looking  to  the  right  and  left ;  and  behold  !  a  great  eagle  descended  from 
the  sky,  and  taking  up  the  young  man  with  its  talons,  it  flew  with  him,  between 
heaven  and  earth,  until  it  conveyed  him  to  an  island  in  the  midst  of  the  sea. 
There  it  threw  him  down,  and  departed  from  him. 

So  the  young  man  was  perplexed  at  his  case,  not  knowing  whither  to  go; 
but  while  he  was  sitting  one  da}-,  lo  !  the  sail  of  a  vessel  appeared  to  him  upon 
the  sea,  like  the  star  in  the  sky  ;  wherefore  the  heart  of  the  young  man  became 
intent  upon  the  vessel,  in  the  hope  that  his  escape  might  be  effected  in  it. 

He  continued  looking  at  it  until  it  came  near  unto  him ;  and  when  it  arrived, 
he  beheld  a  bark  of  ivory  and  ebony,  the  oars  of  which  were  of  sandal-wood 
and  aloes-wood,  and  the  whole  of  it  was  encased  with  plates  of  brilliant  gold. 
There  were  also  in  it  ten  damsels,  virgins,  like  moons. 

When  the  damsels  saw  him,  they  landed  to  him  from  the  bark,  and  kissed 
his  hands,  saying  to  him,  "Thou  art  the  king,  the  bridegroom."  Then  there 
advanced  to  him  a  damsel  who  was  like  the  shining  sun  in  the  clear  sky,  having 
in  her  hand  a  kerchief  of  silk,  in  which  were  a  royal  robe,  and  a  crown  of  gold 
set  with  varieties  of  jacinths.  Having  advanced  to  him,  she  clad  him  and 
crowned  him  ;  after  which  the  damsels  carried  him  in  their  arms  to  the  bark, 
and  he  found  in  it  varieties  of  carpets  of  silk  of  clivers  colors.  They  then 
spread  the  sails,  and  proceeded  over  the  depths  of  the  sea. 

"  Now  when  I  proceeded  with  them,"  says  the  young  man,  "  I  felt  sure  that 
this  was  a  dream,  and  knew  not  whither  they  were  going  with  me.  And  when 
they  came  in  sight  of  land,  I  beheld  it  filled  with  troops,  the  number  of  which 
none  knew  but  God,  (whose  perfection  be  extolled,  and  whose  name  be  exalted  !) 
clad  in  coats  of  mail.  They  brought  forward  to  me  five  marked  horses,  with 
saddles  of  gold,  set  with  varieties  of  pearls  and  precious  stones ;  and  I  took  a 
horse  from  among  these  and  mounted  it.  The  four  others  proceeded  with  me; 
and  when  I  mounted,  the  ensigns  and  banners  were  set  up  over  my  head,  the 
drums  and  the  cymbals  were  beaten,  and  the  troops  disposed  themselves  in  two 
divisions,  right  and  left. 


178  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  I  wavered  in  opinion  as  to  whether  I  were  asleep  or  awake,  and  ceased  not 
to  advance,  not  believing  in  the  reality  of  my  stately  procession,  but  imagining 
that  it  was  the  result  of  confused  dreams,  until  we  came  in  sight  of  a  verdant 
meadow,  in  which  were  palaces  and  gardens  and  trees  and  rivers  and  flowers, 
and  birds  proclaiming  the  perfection  of  God,  the  One,  the  Omnipotent. 

"  And  now  there  came  forth  an  army  from  among  those  palaces  and  gardens, 
like  the  torrent  when  it  poureth  down,  until  it  filled  the  meadow.  When  the 
troops  drew  near  to  me,  they  hailed,  and  lo  !  a  king  advanced  from  among  them, 
riding  alone,  preceded  by  some  of  his  chief  officers  walking." 

The  king,  on  approaching  the  young  man,  alighted  from  his  courser  ;  and  the 
young  man,  seeing  him  do  so,  alighted  also  ;  and  they  saluted  each  other  with 
the  most  courteous  salutation.  Then  they  mounted  their  horses  again,  and  the 
king  said  to  the  young  man,  "  Accompany  us  ;  for  thou  art  my  guest."  So  the 
young  man  proceeded  with  him,  and  they  conversed  together,  while  the  stately 
trains  in  orderly  disposition  went  on  before  them  to  the  palace  of  the  king,  when 
they  alighted,  and  all  of  them  entered,  together  with  the  king  and  the  young 
man,  the  young  man's  hand  being  in  the  hand  of  the  king,  who  thereupon  seated 
him  on  the  throne  of  gold,  and  seated  himself  beside  him.  When  the  king 
removed  the  litham  from  his  face,  lo  !  this  supposed  king  was  a  damsel,  like  the 
shining  sun  in  the  clear  sky,  a  lad}'  of  beauty  and  loveliness,  and  elegance  and 
perfection,  and  conceit,  and  amorous  dissimulation.  The  young  man  beheld 
vast  affluence  and  great  prosperity,  and  wondered  at  the  beauty  and  loveliness 
of  the  damsel. 

Then  the  damsel  said  to  him,  "  Know,  O  king,  that  I  am  the  queen  of  this 
land,  and  all  these  troops  that  thou  hast  seen,  including  every  one,  whether  of 
cavalry  or  infantry,  are  women.  There  are  not  among  them  any  men.  The 
men  among  us,  in  this  land,  till  and  sow  and  reap,  employing  themselves  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  land,  and  the  building  and  the  repairing  of  the  towns,  and  in 
attending  to  the  affairs  of  the  people,  by  the  pursuit  of  every  kind  of  art  and 
trade;  but  as  to  the  women,  they  are  the  governors  and  magistrates  and 
soldiers." 

And  the  young  man  wondered  at  this  extremely.  And  while  they  were 
thus  conversing,  the  vizier  entered  ;  and  lo  !  she  was  a  gray-haired  old  woman, 
having  a  numerous  retinue,  of  venerable  and  dignified  appearance ;  and  the 
queen  said  to  her,  "  Bring  to  us  the  kadee  and  the  witnesses."  So  the  old  woman 
went  for  that  purpose. 

And  the  queen  turned  towards  the  young  man,  conversing  with  him  and 
cheering  him,  and  dispelling  his  fear  by  kind  words ;  and,  addressing  him  cour- 
teously, she  said  to  him,  "  Art  thou  content  for  me  to  be  thy  wife?  " 


LIBRARY    OF    ST.    MARK'S,    VENICE. 


VENICE.  l8l 

And  thereupon  he  arose  and  kissed  the  ground  before  her ;  but  she  forbade 
him,  and  he  replied,  "  O  my  mistress,  I  am  less  than  the  servants  who  serve 
thee." 

She  then  said  to  him,  "  Seest  thou  not  these  servants  and  soldiers,  and 
wealth  and  treasures  and   hoards?" 

He  answered  her,  "  Yes." 

And  she  said  to  him,  "All  these  are  at  thy  disposal;  thou  shalt  make  use 
of  them,  and  give  and  bestow  as  seemeth  nt  to  thee."  Then  she  pointed  to  a 
closed  door,  and  said  to  him,  "All  these  things  thou  shalt  dispose  of:  but  this 
door  thou  shalt  not  open  ;  for  if  thou  open  it,  thou  wilt  repent,  when  repentance 
will  not  avail  thee." 

Her  words  were  not  ended  when  the  vizier,  with  the  kadee  and  the  wit- 
nesses, entered;  and  all  of  them  were  old  women,  with  their  hair  spreading  over 
their  shoulders,  and  of  venerable  and  dignified  appearance.  When  they  came 
before  the  queen,  she  ordered  them  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  the  marriage- 
contract.  So  the}"  married  her  to  the  young  man.  And  she  prepared  the 
banquets  and  collected  the  troops;  and  when  they  had  eaten  and  drunk,  the 
young  man  took  her  as  his  wife.  And  he  resided  with  her  seven  years,  passing 
the  most  delightful,  comfortable,  and  agreeable  life. 

But  he  meditated  one  day  upon  opening  the  door,  and  said,  "  Were  it  not 
that  there  are  within  it  great  treasures,  better  than  what  I  have  seen,  she  had 
not  prohibited  me  from  opening  it." 

lie  then  arose  and  opened  the  door,  and  lo  !  within  it  was  the  bird  that  had 
carried  him  from  the  shore  of  the  great  river,  and  deposited  him  upon  the 
island. 

When  the  bird  beheld  him,  it  said  to  him,  "  No  welcome  to  a  face  that  will 
never  be  happy ! 

So  when  he  saw  it  and  heard  its  words,  he  fled  from  it ;  but  it  followed  him 
and  carried  him  off,  and  flew  with  him  between  heaven  and  earth  for  the  space 
of  an  hour,  and  at  length  deposited  him  in  the  place  from  which  it  had  carried 
him  away,  after  which  it  disappeared. 

He  thereupon  sat  in  the  place,  and,  returning  to  his  reason,  he  reflected 
upon  what  he  had  seen  of  affluence  and  glory  and  honor,  and  the  riding  of 
the  troops  before  him,  and  commanding  and  forbidding;  and  he  wept  and 
wailed. 

He  remained  upon  the  shore  of  the  great  river,  where  that  bird  had  put 
him,  for  the  space  of  two  months,  wishing  that  he  might  return  to  his  wife  ;  but 
while  he  was  one  night  awake,  mourning  and  meditating,  some  one  spoke  (and 
he  heard  his  voice,  but  saw  not  his  persoiA,  calling  out,  "  How  great  were  the 


1 82  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

delights  !  Far,  far  from  thee  is  the  return  of  what  is  passed  !  And  how  many 
therefore  will  be  the  sighs  !  " 

So  when  the  young  man  heard  it,  he  despaired  ot  meeting  again  that  queen, 
and  of  the  return  to  him  of  the  affluence  in  which  he  had  been  living.  He  then 
entered  the  mansions  where  the  sheykhs  resided,  and  knew  that  they  had 
experienced  the  like  of  that  which  had  happened  unto  him,  and  that  this  was 
the  cause  of  their  weeping  and  mourning;    wherefore  he  excused  them. 

Grief  and  anxiety  came  upon  the  young  man,  and  he  entered  his  chamber, 
and  ceased  not  to  weep  and  moan,  relinquishing  food  and  drink  and  pleasant 
scents  and  laughter,  until  he  died  ;  and  he  was  buried  by  the  side  of  the 
sheykhs. 

THE  DUCK  THAT  LAID  GOLDEN  EGGS. 

THERE  lived  once  an  old  man  and  his  wife.  The  man  was  called  Abrosim, 
and  his  wife  Fetinia.  They  were  very  poor  and  miserable,  and  had  a  son 
named  Little  Ivan,  who  was  fifteen  years  old.  One  day  old  Abrosim  brought 
a  crust  of  bread  home  for  his  wife  and  son.  He  had  scarcely  begun  to  eat, 
however,  when  Krutschina  (Sorrow)  sprang  up  from  behind  the  stove,  seized 
the  crust  out  of  his  hand,  and  ran  away  behind  the  stove  again.  The  old  man 
made  a  bow  to  Krutschina,  and  begged  her  to  give  him  the  crust  back  again, 
as  he  and  his  •.■/ i fe  had  pouh!"/-  else  to  eat. 

"  I  will  not  give  you  th'.  cvust  again,"  said  Krutschina,  "but  instead  of  it 
I  will  give  you  a  duck  wh>  .  >  ia/s  a  gold  egg  every  day." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Abrosim,  "  I  shall  be  supperless  to-night.  Do  not  deceive 
me,  but  tell  me  where  I  shall  find  the  duck." 

"  Early  to-morrow  morning,"  said  Krutschina,  "when  you  are  up,  go  into 
town;   there  you  will  see  a  duck  in  a  pond,  catch  it,  and  carry  it  home." 

When  Abrosim  heard  this,  he  lay  down  and  went  to  sleep. 

The  next  morning  he  rose  early,  and  went  to  the  town,  and  was  very  much 
pleased  to  see  the  duck  swimming  about  on  a  pond.  He  called  it  to  him, 
carried  it  to  his  home,  and  gave  it  to  his  wife  Fetinia.  They  were  both 
delighted,  and  put  the  duck  in  a  big  basin,  placing  a  sieve  over  it.  In  an 
hour's  time  they  went  to  look  at  it,  and  discovered  that  the  duck  had  laid  a 
golden  egg.  Then  they  took  the  duck  out,  and  let  it  walk  a  little  on  the 
floor,  and  the  old  man,  taking  the  egg,  set  oft"  to  town.  There  he  sold  the  egg 
for  a  hundred  roubles,  took  the  money,  and,  going  to  the  market,  bought 
different  kinds  of  vegetables  and   set  oft"  home. 

The  next  day  the  duck  laid  another  egg  like  the  first,  which  Abrosim  sold 


A    VENETIAN    GARDEN. 


VENICE.  185 

in  the  same  manner.  So  the  duck  went  on  laying  a  golden  egg  every  day,  and 
the  old  man  became  in  a  short  time  very  rich.  He  bought  a  large  house,  a 
great  many  shops,  all  kinds  of  wares,  and  set  up  in  business. 

His  wife  Fetinia  made  a  favorite  of  a  young  clerk  in  her  husband's  employ, 
and  used  to  supply  him  with  money.  One  day  when  Abrosim  was  away  from 
home  buying  some  goods,  the  clerk  called  to  have  a  talk  with  Fetinia,  and  it 
chanced  that  he  then  saw  the  duck  that  laid  the  golden  eggs.  He  was  pleased 
with  the  bird,  and,  examining  it,  found  written  under  its  wing  in  gold  letters, 
"  Whoever  eats  this  duck  will  be  a  czar." 

He  did  not  say  anything  to  Fetinia  about  what  he  had  seen,  but  asked  her 
to  roast  the  duck  for  him.  Fetinia  said  she  could  not  kill  the  duck,  for  all  their 
fortune  depended  on  it ;  but  the  clerk  begged  her  so  earnestly  that  she  at  last 
consented,  and  killed  it,  and  put  it  in  the  oven.  The  clerk  then  went  off,  saying 
he  would  return  soon,  and  Fetinia  also  went  out  in  the  town.  While  they  were 
gone,  in  came  little  Ivan.  He  felt  very  hungry,  and  looking  about  him  for 
something  to  eat,  he  chanced  to  see  the  roast  duck  in  the  oven  ;  so  he  took  it 
out,  and  ate  all  of  it  but  the  bones.     Then  he  went  off  again  to  the  shop. 

In  a  little  while  the  clerk  came  back,  and,  having  called  Fetinia,  asked  her 
to  bring  out  the  duck.  The  woman  went  to  the  oven ;  but  when  she  saw  that 
the  duck  was  not  there,  she  was  terribly  put  out,  and  told  the  clerk  that  the 
duck  had  disappeared.     At  that  the  clerk  flew  into  a  great  rage,  and  said,  — 

"  You  have  eaten  the  duck  yourself,  of  course."  and  he  got  up  and  walked 
out  of  the  house. 

In  the  evening  Abrosim  and  his  son,  little  Ivan,  came  home.  When 
Abrosim  did  not  see  the  duck,  he  asked  his  wife  where  it  was;  and  she  told 
him  that  she  did  not  know.     Then  little  Ivan  said  to  his  father,  — 

"  My  dear  father,  when  I  came  home,  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  for  dinner, 
my  mother  was  not  in  ;  so  I  looked  in  the  oven,  and  there  found  a  roast  duck. 
I  took  it  out,  and  ate  it  all  but  the  bones ;  but  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  our 
duck  or  a  strange  one." 

Then  old  Abrosim  was  in  such  a  rage  that  he  thrashed  his  wife  till  she  was 
half  dead,  and  he  turned  little  Ivan  out  of  doors. 

Little  Ivan  began  his  journey.  Where  should  he  go?  He  determined  to 
follow  his  nose.  For  ten  days  and  nights  he  went  on.  Then  he  came  to  a 
town,  and  as  he  stepped  to  the  gate,  he  saw  a  great  many  people  assembled. 
Now  these  folk  had  been  taking  counsel,  their  czar  being  dead,  as  to  who 
should  succeed  him.  In  the  end  they  agreed  that  the  first  person  who  should 
come  in  at  the  city  gate,  should  be  made  czar.  Just  then  in  came  little  Ivan 
through  the  gate  ;  so  all  the  people  cried  out  together,  — 


1 86  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  Here  is  our  czar  ! 

The  chief  folk  took  little  Ivan  by  the  arms,  conducted  him  to  the  royal 
apartments,  put  on  him  the  czar's  robes,  seated  him  on  the  throne,  made  obei- 
sance to  him  as  to  their  czar,  and  waited  for  his  commands.  Then  little  Ivan 
thought  he  must  surely  be  asleep  and  dreaming  all  this,  but  at  last  he  knew 
that  he  must  be  really  czar.  He  was  heartily  pleased,  began  to  rule  over  the 
people,  and  to  appoint  his  officers.  A  short  time  after  he  called  one  of  them, 
named  Luga,  to  him,  and  said,  — 

"  My  true  friend  and  good  knight  Luga,  I  want  you  to  do  me  a  service. 
Go  to  my  own  country,  go  to  the  czar,  salute  him  for  me.  and  ask  him  to 
deliver  to  you  the  shopkeeper  Abrosim  and  his  wife,  so  that  you  may  bring 
them  to  me.  If  he  will  not  deliver  them  up  to  you,  tell  him  that  I  will  lay 
waste  his  country  with  fire,  and  will  make  himself  my  prisoner." 

When  the  servant  Luga  was  come  into  little  Ivan's  country,  he  went  to  the 
czar  and  asked  him  to  let  Abrosim  and  Fetinia  go  away  with  him.  The  czar 
was  unwilling  to  let  Abrosim  go,  for  he  wanted  to  keep  the  rich  merchant  in 
his  own  country.  He  knew,  however,  that  Ivan's  kingdom  was  very  large  and 
populous,  and  being  therefore  afraid,  he  let  Abrosim  and  Fetinia  depart. 
Luga  received  them  from  the  czar,  and  conducted  them  to  his  own  native 
country. 

When  he  brought  them  to  little  Ivan,  the  czar  said  to  his  father, — 

"  Yes,  Father,  you  turned  me  away  from  your  house,  and  I  therefore  bring 
you  to  mine.  Come,  live  with  me,  you  and  my  mother,  till  the  end  of  your 
days." 

Abrosim  and  Fetinia  rejoiced  exceedingly  to  find  that  their  son  had  become 
czar,  and  they  lived  with  him  many  years,  until  they  died. 

Little  Ivan  ruled  for  thirty  years  in  good  health,  and  was  very  happy,  and 
all  his  people  loved  him  sincerely  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life. 


THE   STOLEN    HEART. 

OxCE  upon  a  time  there  stood  on  an  island  in  the  Vistula  a  great  castle, 
surrounded  by  a  strong  rampart.  At  each  corner  was  a  tower,  and  from  these 
there  waved  in  the  wind  many  a  flag,  while  the  soldiers  stood  on  guard  upon 
them.     A  bridge  connected  the  island  with  the  banks  of  the  river. 

In  this  castle  lived  a  knight,  a  brave  and  famous  warrior.  When  the  trum- 
pets sounded  from  the  battlements  of  the  castle,  their  notes  announced  that  he 
had  returned  from  victory  loaded  with  booty. 


VENICE.  189 

In  the  deep  dungeons  of  the  castle  many  a  prisoner  was  confined,  and  they 
were  led  out  daily  to  work.  They  had  to  keep  the  ramparts  in  repair,  and 
see  to  the  garden.  Now  among  these  prisoners  was  an  old  woman,  who  was  a 
sorceress.  She  swore  that  she  would  be  revenged  upon  the  knight  for  his  ill- 
treatment  of  her,  and  patiently  awaited  an  opportunity  to  effect  her  purpose. 

One  day  the  knight  came  back  wearied  out  with  his  exertions  on  one  of  his 
warlike  excursions.  He  lay  down  upon  the  grass,  closed  his  eyes,  and  was  soon 
fast  asleep. 

The  witch  seized  the  opportunity.  Coming  gently  to  him,  she  scattered 
poppy  seed  on  his  eyes  so  that  he  should  sleep  the  sounder.  Then,  with  an 
aspen  branch,  she  struck  him  on  the  breast  over  his  heart. 

The  knight's  breast  at  once  opened,  so  that  one  could  look  in  and  see  the 
heart  as  it  lay  there  and  beat.  The  sorceress  laughed,  stretched  out  her  bony 
arm,  and  with  her  long  fingers  she  stole  away  the  heart  so  quietly  that  the  knight 
never  woke. 

Then  the  woman  took  a  hare's  heart  which  she  had  ready,  put  it  in  the 
sleeping  man's  breast,  and  closed  up  the  opening.  Going  away  softly,  she  hid 
herself  in  a  thicket,  to  see  the  effect' of  her  wicked  work. 

Before  the  knight  was  even  awake  he  began  to  feel  the  change  that  the  hare's 
heart  was  making  in  him.  He,  who  had  till  now  never  known  fear,  quaked  and 
tossed  himself  uneasily  from  side  to  side.  When  he  awoke  he  felt  as  if  he 
should  be  crushed  by  his  armor.  The  cry  of  his  hounds,  as  it  fell  on  his  ear, 
filled  him  with  terror. 

Once  he  had  loved  to  hear  their  deep  baying  as  he  followed  them  in  pursuit 
of  the  prey  in  the  wild  forest,  but  now  he  was  filled  with  fear,  and  fled  like  a 
timid  hare.  As  he  ran  to  his  room  the  clang  of  his  armor,  the  ringing  of  his 
silver  spurs,  the  clatter  of  his  spear,  filled  him  with  such  terror  that  he  threw  all 
aside,  and  sank  exhausted  on  his  bed. 

Even  in  his  sleep  fear  pursued  him.  Once  he  dreamed  only  of  battles 
and  of  the  prizes  of  victory,  now  he  trembled  as  he  dreamed.  The  barking  of 
his  dogs,  the  voices  of  his  soldiers  as  they  paced  the  ramparts  while  they 
watched,  made  him  quake  as  he  lay  on  his  bed  ;  and  he  buried  his  head,  like  a 
frightened  child,  in  his  pillow. 

At  length  there  came  a  bod)'  of  the  knight's  enemies  to  besiege  him  in  his 
castle.  The  knight's  soldiers  looked  upon  their  leader,  who  had  so  often 
delighted  in  the  excitement  of  the  camp  and  in  the  victory.  In  vain  they 
waited  for  him  to  lead  them  forth.  The  once  brave  knight,  when  he  heard  the 
clash  of  arms,  the  cries  of  the  men,  and  the  clang  of  the  horses'  hoofs,  fled  to 


I  go  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

the  topmost  chamber  of  his  castle,  and  from  there  looked  down  upon  the 
force  which  had  come  against  him. 

When  he  recollected  his  expeditions  in  the  time  past,  his  combats,  his  vic- 
tories, he  wept  bitterly,  and  cried  out  aloud,  — 

"  O  Heaven!  give  me  now  courage,  give  me  the  old  strength  of  heart  and 
vigor.  My  men  have  already  gone  to  the  field,  and  I,  who  used  to  lead  them, 
now,  like  a  girl,  look  through  the  highest  loophole  upon  my  enemies.  Give 
me  my  old  boldness,  that  1  may  take  my  arms  again ;  make  me  what  I  was 
once,  and  bless  me  with  victory." 

These  thoughts,  as  it  were,  awakened  him  from  a  dream.  He  went  again  to 
his  chamber,  put  on  his  armor,  leaped  upon  his  horse,  and  rode  outside  the 
castle  gate.  The  soldiers  saw  him  come  with  joy,  and  sounded  the  trumpets. 
The  knight  went  on,  but  in  his  secret  soul  he  was  afraid  ;  and  when  his  men 
gallantly  threw  themselves  upon  the  enemy,  deadly  fear  came  over  him,  and  he 
turned  and  fled. 

Even  when  he  was  once  more  in  his  stronghold,  when  the  mighty  walls  held 
him  safe  within  them,  fear  did  not  leave  him.  He  sprang  from  his  horse,  fled 
to  an  innermost  chamber,  and  there  quite  unmanned  awaited  inglorious  death. 
His  men  had  triumphed  over  the  foe,  and  the  salutations  of  the  guards 
announced  their  victorious  return.  All  wondered  at  the  flight  of  their  leader 
at  such  a  time.  They  looked  for  him,  and  discovered  him  half  dead  in  a  deep 
cellar. 

The  unfortunate  knight  did  not  live  long.  During  the  winter  he  tried  to 
warm  his  quaking  limbs  by  the  fireside  of  his  castle.  When  spring  came  he 
would  open  his  window  that  he  might  breathe  the  fresh  air;  and  one  day  it 
chanced  a  swallow,  that  had  built  its  nest  in  a  hole  of  the  roof,  struck  him  on 
the  head  with  its  wing.  The  blow  was  fatal.  As  if  he  had  been  struck  by 
lightning,  the  knight  fell  down  upon  the  ground,  and  in  a  short  while  died. 

All  his  men  mourned  for  their  good  master.  They  knew  not  what  had 
changed  him,  but  about  a  year  later,  when  some  sorceresses  were  being  put  to 
the  ordeal  for  having  kept  off  the  rain,  one  of  them  confessed  that  she  had 
taken  the  knight's  heart,  and  put  in  his  breast  a  hare's. 


CHAPTER   X. 

STORIES   AND   STUDIES   WHILE    DETAINED    IN    QUARANTINE. 

|UR  travellers  sailed   for  Alexandria,  Egypt,  with  the 
purpose  of  resting  at   Cairo,  and  making  an  excur- 
sion up  the   Nile.     The   steamer  made  a  swift  and 
delightful  voyage  across  the  Mediterranean,  stopped 
off    the   quarantine,  and  was   delayed.     The    health 
officers  came  on   board. 
A  clay  passed.     The  health  officers  came  on  board  again.     Some 
mysterious  information  was  passing  among  the  officers  of  the  steamer. 
The  captain  looked  grave ;  the  stewards  troubled  and  alarmed. 

The  cause  of  the  detention  came  out  on  the  third  day.  There  had 
been  a  case  of  supposed  cholera  on  board. 

The  patient  was  a  passenger  in  the  intermediate  part  of  the 
steamer.     He  had  recovered,  and   no  other  case  had  followed. 

With  the  shores  of  Egypt  in  view,  and  impatient  to  land,  our  trav- 
ellers were  told  that  they  would  be  detained  in  quarantine  for  some 
time,  —  certainly  a  week,  possibly  a  fortnight. 

Percy  immediately  began  to  study  the  regulations  of  quarantine, 
and  the  consular  duties  in  regard  to  them.  His  father  at  first  explained 
them,  and  then  he  carefully  read  the  book  of  "Consular  Regulations." 
From  this  he  learned  that  an  Act  of  Congress  of  1S7S  provided  — 

That  whenever  any  infectious  or  contagious  disease  shall  appear  in  any 
foreign  port  or  country,  and  whenever  any  vessel  shall  leave  any  passengers 
coming  from  any  infected  foreign  port,  or  having  on  board  goods  or  passengers 
coming  from  any  place   or  district  infected  with  cholera  or  yellow  fever,  shall 


192  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

leave  any  foreign  port,  bound  for  any  port  in  the  United  States,  the  consular 
officer,  or  other  representative  of  the  United  States  at  or  nearest  such  foreign 
port,  shall  immediately  give  information  thereof  to  the  supervising  surgeon- 
general  of  the  marine-hospital  service,  and  shall  report  to  him  the  name,  the 
date  of  departure,  and  the  port  of  destination  in  the  United  States;  and  the 
consular  officers  of  the  United  States  shall  make  weekly  reports  to  him  of  the 
sanitary  condition  of  the  ports  at  which  they  are  respectively  stationed. 

The  book  of  "  Regulations  "  explained  that  — 

The  object  of  the  foregoing  section  of  the  law  is  to  secure  timely  advice  of 
the  outbreaks  of  cholera  and  yellow  fever,  and  of  the  probable  transportation  >of 
the  poisons  of  these  preventable  diseases  in  vessels  bound  for  the  United  States  ; 
and  consular  officers  for  the  United  States  are  directed  to  put  themselves  into 
communication  with  the  health  authorities  of  their  respective  stations,  and  from 
the  information  obtained  from  such  authorities,  or  from  other  reliable  sources 
where  no  regularly  constituted  health  authorities  exist,  to  prepare  and  transmit 
by  the  mails  to  the  Department  of  State,  for  the  information  of  the  surgeon- 
general  of  the  marine-hospital  service,  on  forms  prescribed  by  the  department, 
weekly  reports  of  the  appearance,  progress,  or  termination  of  cholera,  yellow 
fever,  small-pox  plague,  or  typhus  occurring  in  their  respective  localities,  and 
are  further  instructed  to  include  in  said  reports  information  in  relation  to  the 
prevalence  of  other  preventable  diseases,  as  diphtheria,  enteric  and  scarlet 
fevers,  etc  .  the  prevailing  disease  or  diseases  in  port,  if  any,  and,  when  practi- 
cable, the  annual  death  rate  per  one  thousand  of  the  population  as  shown  by 
the  official  record  of  deaths  for  the  week  reported.  Special  interest  should  be 
taken  in  the  healthfulness  of  vessels,  reporting  those  arriving  from  or  departing 
to  the  United  States  in  a  bad  sanitary  condition  ;  also  reporting  the  facts  of  any 
serious  sickness  or  unhealthiness  of  seamen  in  port,  or  of  crews  arriving  from  or 
departing  to  the  United  States. 

In  the  event  of  the  outbreak  of  Asiatic  cholera,  yellow  fever  or  Asiatic  plague, 
or  other  contagious  disease  in  epidemic  form,  the  department  must  immediately 
be  advised  by  cable  or  telegraph  of  such  outbreak,  using  such  abbreviation  as 
the  department  may  from  time  to  time  direct 

The  consul  will  give  to  every  master  of  a  vessel  bound  to  a  port  in  the 
United  States,  a  bill  of  health  on  the  form  prescribed  by  the  department,  giving 
full  information  of  the  number  of  persons  on  board  such  vessel  at  the  time  of 
sailing  and  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  vessel  so  far  as  known,  and  also  the 
sanitary  condition  of  the  port  of  departure  at  the  time.     At  such   ports  as  may 


STORIES   AND  STUDIES  IN  QUARANTINE.  I  95 

from  time  to  time  be  designated  by  the  department,  a  physician  will  be 
employed  or  detailed  to  make  the  necessary  inspection  of  the  vessel,  her  pas- 
sengers, crew,  cargo,  and  ballast.  In  case  the  master  of  any  vessel  shall  refuse 
to  receive  a  bill  of  health,  the  fact  shall  be  immediately  reported  to  the  depart- 
ment by  cable,  if  necessary. 

When  a  vessel  having  received  a  bill  of  health,  touches  at  any  other  port 
while  en  route  to  the  United  States,  the  consul  at  such  port  shall  visa  the  bill  of 
health  and  note  thereon  such  changes  as  may  have  taken  place  since  its  original 
issue. 

Monthly  reports  of  the  bills  of  health  issued  must  be  made  to  the  depart- 
ment on  the  regular  forms. 

There  was,  at  first,  much  terror  and  apprehension  among  the  pas- 
sengers when  the  announcement  of  the  infectious  disease  was  made. 
But,  as  the  case  was  doubtful,  and  the  patient  recovered,  the  anxiety 
gave  place  to  hope. 

Time  grew  weary  in  the  long  quarantine  under  the  burning  sky. 
Tales  of  travel  and  adventures  on  the  sea  were  told  by  the  English 
passengers  to  pass  away  the  slow  hours.  Some  of  these  "  tales  in 
quarantine"  were  vivid  and  interesting,  and  we  will  give  two  of  them 
here.1 

THE   GOURD    HELMETS. 

A  YOUNG  shipmate  of  mine,  named  Montrose  Merton,  once  related  to  me 
a  queer  adventure  which  he  had  met  with  upon  his  first  voyage. 

"  It  happened  two  years  ago,  when  I  was  seventeen."  said  Mont.  "  Per- 
haps you  may  have  heard  of  the  brig  '  Rainbow,'  and  how  and  where  she  was 
lost.     I  was  in  her  at  the  time. 

"We  had  been  freighting  about  the  West  Indies  for  nearly  a  year,  going 
from  port  to  port  with  whatever  invoice  could  he  picked  up,  till  finally,  at 
Havana,  we  were  ordered  over  to  the  little  Mexican  town  of  Laguna,  where 
we  were  to  take  in  a  cargo  of  logwood. 

"  So  we  ran  over  toward  the  place,  and  got  into  the  Ray  of  Campeachy  ;  but 
the  brig  never  arrived  at  her  port.     I  suppose  it  was   a  piece  of  carelessness 

1  These  stories  were  written  by  Mr.  Coomes  for  "Golden  Days,"  and  are  used  by  permission 


196  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

on  the  captain's  part;   but,  at  all  events,  she  struck  on  a  reef,  and  that  was  the 
end  of  her. 

"  After  a  few  thumps,  away  went  both  masts  over  the  side,  and  she  was 
very  soon  full  of  water.  We  got  off  with  the  yawl  and  long-boat,  saving  only 
our  money  and  clothing,  and  the  next  day  reached  Laguna,  where  we  came 
under  the  care  of  the  American  consul 

"  However,  we  were  in  no  real  distress,  as  all  of  us  had  some  specie,  and  a 
very  little  of  this  would  go  a  long  way  in  such  a  sleep)-  port  as  that  old  Mex- 
ican town. 

"  We,  before  the  mast,  had  been  permitted  to  buy  and  sell  some  little 
'ventures'  at  the  ports  the  brig  had  visited,  and  I,  for  one,  had  nearly  a  hun- 
dred dollars. 

"  The  consul  was  a  Mr.  Clark,  from  Connecticut,  where  he  had  once  been 
a  school  teacher.  He  was  a  fine  man,  and  he  had  a  son  named  Richard,  who, 
as  it  happened,  was  of  my  own  age  to  a  single  day.  That,  I  suppose,  was 
what  people  would  call  a  '  singular  coincidence.' 

"  Dick  Clark  seemed  as  glad  to  see  me  as  if  I  had  been  his  own  brother, 
though  I  was  an  entire  stranger  to  him.  He  said  I  was  the  first  American  boy 
he  had  set  eyes  on  for  a  whole  year,  though  he  had  now  and  then  been 
refreshed  with  the  sight  of  a  few  live  Yankee  men,  who  had  come  there  after 
logwood  in  vessels  flying  the  dear  old  stripes  and  stars. 

"  We  quickly  struck  up  a  warm  friendship,  and  Dick  said  if  I  would 
remain  at  the  place  for  a  time,  we  would  have  some  fine  sport  hunting  wild 
animals  and  exploring  the  neighboring  shores. 

"  He  showed  me  a  dugout  that  he  owned,  —  a  sort  of  double-ender,  about 
twenty  feet  long  and  four  feet  wide,  made  from  a  single  tree.  Of  course  it 
was  rather  clumsy,  as  boats  go;  but  then  it  had  been  burned  down,  and  hewn 
down,  and  chiselled  down  a  great  deal  thinner  and  better  than  you  would  sup- 
pose it  could  have  been.  Dick  had  some  tools,  and  he  had  given  it  the 
finishing  touches  himself. 

"  It  had  a  sail  and  oars  and  a  set  of  paddles,  and  there  was  a  canvas  cover 
that  could  be  drawn  over  about  half  the  length  of  the  hull;  so  that  two  or 
three  fellows  could  sleep  under  it,  if  they  should  happen  to  be  out  all  night. 

"The  town  was  certainly  the  dullest  spot  of  earth  it  was  ever  my  fortune  to 
light  upon.  It  smelt  of  logwood  everywhere,  just  like  a  dye-house.  Nobody 
thought  of  dealing  in  anything  else. 

"  The  inhabitants  had  more  time  than  they  knew  what  to  do  with,  and  I 
don't  believe  a  single  one  of  them  was  ever  in  a  hurry  in  his  life.  No  wonder 
that  Dick  felt  lonesome,  I  thought. 


STORIES  AND   STUDIES  IN  QUARANTINE.  I  99 

"  As  to  myself,  the  case  was  different.  Being  at  liberty  to  go  or  stay,  as  I 
pleased,  I  could  feel  quite  easy  and  contented  ;  and  so  I  fell  in  with  his  propo- 
sition at  once.  In  a  few  days  the  rest  of  the  '  Rainbow's '  crew  went  over  to 
Havana  in  a  Spanish  brig,  but  I  remained  behind. 

"  Dick  owned  a  very  good  gun  ;  but,  as  it  was  the  only  fire-arm  of  a  modern 
pattern  that  he  knew  of  in  the  place,  it  seemed  at  first  as  if  I  should  have  to 
take  up  with  some  old  Mexican  flintlock.  But,  finally,  I  was  lucky  enough  to 
get  a  double-barrelled  fowling-piece  from  the  skipper  of  a  Dutch  bark  which 
was  loading  with  logwood  for  Rotterdam,  and  on  the  next  day  we  started  out. 
Laguna  stands  on  one  of  a  chain  of  islands  at  the  mouth  of  Lake  Terminos, 
and  we  took  an  oblique  course  for  the  main  shore,  where  we  hoped  to  find 
some  large  game.  Dick  thought  we  should  be  likely  to  meet  with  tapirs  ant- 
eaters,  sloths,  gluttons,  and  perhaps  a  bear,  besides  standing  a  fair  chance  of 
stirring  up  a  jaguar  or  a  herd  of  peccaries 

"  I  had  seen  a  good  many  jaguars  behind  the  bars  of  cages,  but  peccaries 
I  knew  nothing  about,  except  that  they  were  a  sort  of  small  swine.  I  found, 
though,  that  Dick  had  a  real  dread  of  them.  They  were  worse  than  the 
jumping  toothache,  he  said,  and  always  looking  for  a  fight.  Out  of  a  full  hun- 
dred, you  might  kill  all  but  one,  yet  the  hundredth  fellow  would  come  right  on 
just  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  clashing  his  ugly  tusks  and  bristling  all  over 
like  a  little  fur}-. 

"  After  reaching  the  mainland,  we  coasted  along  the  shore  for  two  days, 
sometimes  ranging  the  woods  or  pampas,  at  other  times  off  on  board  our 
dugout. 

"  Now  and  then  we  would  come  upon  a  camp  of  logwood  cutters,  and  next 
there  would  be  an  unbroken  forest  or  a  wide  plain,  with  no  human  being  in 
sight. 

"  Our  object  was  to  get  as  many  specimens  as  possible  of  the  skins  of 
curious  birds  and  animals  to  be  carried  home  as  trophies.  We  wanted,  above 
all  things,  a  jaguar  skin,  not  only  for  its  beauty,  but  because  it  could  n't  be  had 
without  the  danger  of  risking  our  own   skins  in  getting  it. 

"We  killed  a  sloth,  an  armadillo,  two  ant-eaters,  and  a  tapir,  all  very  strange- 
looking  creatures,  besides  bagging  two  large  monkeys  and  a  number  of  splen- 
did parrots  and  cockatoos. 

"  On  the  third  day,  while  going  very  quietly  through  a  strip  of  forest,  we 
got  a  prodigious  start  from  two  ocelots  that  sprang  out  of  a  hollow  tree  not 
twenty  feet  from  us.  We  shot  both  of  them  dead  on  the  spot,  and  they  were 
the  most  beautiful  animals  I  ever  saw.  Even  the  African  leopard  isn't  so 
handsome. 


200  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  They  measured  about  three  feet  in  length,  and  I  have  the  skin  of  one 
of  them  now. 

"  However,  that  day  ended  our  hunt  and  made  us  willing  to  go  home,  for 
it  was  then  that  the  adventure  happened  that  I  started  to  tell  you  about 

"  Within  the  tropics,  you  know,  everything  of  the  vegetable  kind  has  a 
rank  growth,  and  Dick  and  I  had  several  times  come  upon  a  species  of  gourd 
nearly  as  large  as  a  peck  measure.  We  had  seen,  too,  a  number  of  dry  ones 
floating  upon  the  water  close  to  the  flocks  of  fowl. 

"  Dick  said  he  had  heard  that  the  natives,  by  putting  the  shells  on  their 
heads  and  wading  up  to  the  chin,  often  got  right  in  among  the  birds,  so  as  to 
catch  them  by  the  legs. 

"Here  was  an  idea,  and  what  fine  fun   it  would  be  to  act  upon  it! 

"  We  discovered  a  shallow  little  cove  by  the  lake-side,  with  hundreds  of 
fowls  swimming  about  in  it,  and  it  seemed  to  us  that  here  was  just  the  place 
for  our  experiment.  There  were  a  few  gourds  drifting  near  the  flock,  and  this 
encouraged  us,  for  it  showed  that  the  birds  would  n't  take  alarm  at  our 
helmets. 

"  A  line  of  reeds  by  the  water  kept  us  from  being  seen ;  and  so,  leaving  our 
dugout  just  without  the  cove,  we  went  looking  for  gourds  to  fit  our  heads. 

"  Finding  two  enormous  ones,  we  made  eye-holes  and  mouth-holes  in  them, 
and  then  jammed  them  over  our  crowns  till  they  covered  our  faces  completely; 
then  stripped  of  everything  but  our  duck  trowsers,  we  stood  ready  for  the 
trial. 

"  But  dear  me,  what  a  spectacle  we  should  have  made  if  there  had  been 
anybody  to  sec  us !  As  we  stood  there  in  the  blazing  sun,  barefooted  and 
barc-shouldcred,  with  our  heads  feeling  as  big  as  bushel  baskets,  we  laughed 
till  I  thought  we  should  scare  all  the  ducks  out  of  the  cove. 

"We  were  about  twenty  rods  from  the  water,  and  just  as  we  began  to  move 
toward  it,  there  came  some  queer  little  squeaks  and  grunts  from  among  the 
trees  behind  us.     We  stopped  and  listened. 

"  '  Oogh,  oogh,  oogh  !  quee,  quee,  quee  !  '  There  was  a  rustling  of  grass 
and  brushwood,  and  then,  good  gracious,  if  wc  saw  one  ugly  little  snout  bear- 
ing down  upon  us,  we  saw  two  or  three  hundred  !  It  was  a  living  wave  of 
tusks  and  bristles. 

"  '  Peccaries,  peccaries  !  '  Dick  yelled.     '  We  must  run  for  it !  ' 

"  We  still  had  our  guns  with  us,  intending  to  leave  them  on  the  bank  while 
we  waded  after  the  ducks;  but  to  have  fired  just  then  at  that  legion  of  black- 
little  demons  would  simply  have  been  to  waste  time,  and  just  then  we  needed 
all  the  time  there  was. 


A    DAUGHTER    OF    EGYPT. 


STOK/ES  AND   STUDIES  IN  QUARANTINE.  203 

"  With  our  helmets  on  and  our  chests  and  shoulders  bare,  we  sprang  away 
like  a  couple  of  wild  colts.  What  the  peccaries  thought  we  were  with  the 
heads  we  had  on,  I  don't  know.  It  was  no  doubt  the  first  time  they  had  ever 
seen  the  new  kind  of  animal  they  were  in  chase  of. 

"  The  open  ground  behind  us  was  fairly  alive  with  the  savage  little  wretches; 
and  how  we  did  run,  while  they  came  streaming  after  us,  pulling  up  with  all 
the  power  of  their  stout  legs  ! 

"  We  plunged  through  the  line  of  reeds  and  into  the  water,  wading  off 
until  it  was  up  to  our  waists  before  turning  to  fire.  We  had  the  advantage 
of  them  now,  for,  although  they  were  every  one  swimming  for  us,  we  could 
touch  bottom,  while  they  could  not. 

"  We  gave  them  the  contents  of  our  four  barrels,  and  saw  that  number  of 
them  turn  keel  up;  but  all  the  others  came  straight  on,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
spring  away  in  lively  style,  wading  along  as  fast  as  possible,  or  they  would 
have  had  us  sure  enough. 

"  They  chased  us  out  of  the  little  cove  and  away  around  to  our  boat,  though 
we  reloaded  and  fired  a  number  of  times  before  getting  there. 

"  Once  we  crossed  a  deep  place  where  we  had  to  swim,  and  here  they 
came  within  an  ace  of  catching  us,  because  it  was  difficult  to  earn- our  guns 
and  make  headway  at  the  same  time. 

"  We  forgot  all  about  our  gourdshell  helmets,  but  floundered  and  splashed 
along,  looking  through  the  eye-holes  like  a  couple  of  Coeur  de  Lion's  crusaders 
right  from  Palestine.  In  fact,  it  was  no  time  to  think  of  our  headgear  with  a 
whole  army  of  peccaries  at  our  heels. 

"  A  dozen  or  two  of  them  had  got  into  shoal  water,  where  they  could  touch 
bottom,  and  when  we  reached  the  dugout  they  were  almost  up  with  us. 

"  We  grabbed  it  by  the  gunwale  ;  but,  before  the  clumsy  craft  was  fairly 
afloat,  we  had  to  spring  in  and  defend  ourselves  with  the  oars. 

"  The  little  scamps  crowded  alongside,  squealing  and  snapping  their  jaws, 
till  it  seemed  as  if  they  would  come  right  in  upon  us,  in  spite  of  all  we  could  do. 

"But  we  managed  to  push  the  boat  afloat;  and  just  then  something  hap- 
pened that  must  have  surprised  them  as  much  as  it  did  us. 

"There  was  a  roar  and  a  swaying  of  the  reeds,  and,  before  we  could  even 
think,  a  big  jaguar  leaped  right  upon  the  dugout's  bow.  He  was  a  powerful 
fellow,  with  a  great  spotted  head,  and  with  claws  that  seemed  to  sink  into  the 
very  gunwale. 

"  But  it  was  n't  Dick  or  me  that  was  wanted.  In  an  instant  he  whipped  up 
the  nearest  peccary  from  the  water  and  was  off  with  a  bound.  We  could  see 
the  tall  reeds  waving,  where  he  sprang  through  them  up  the  bank. 


204  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  The  entire  herd  gave  chase  to  him,  and  in  three  minutes  there  was  n't  a 
pig  in  sight. 

"We  got  off  into  deep  water  as  soon  as  possible,  and  then  examined  our 
guns  and  ammunition.  Our  powder,  being  in  tight  flasks,  was  not  much  dam- 
aged, but  the  guns  were  dripping  wet,  and  we  had  to  let  them  dry  in  the  hot 
sun  before  reloading.  But,  first,  we  took  off  our  false  heads,  and  it  made  us 
think  of  Ichabod  Crane  and  the  headless  horseman. 

"  After  the  guns  had  become  dry  we  loaded  them  and  pulled  into  the  cove, 
in  order  to  pick  up  a  dead  pig  or  two.  We  had  got  out  of  the  boat  and  were 
dragging  one  of  the  slain  peccaries  from  among  the  reeds,  when  we  heard 
close  to  us  a  growl  that  fairly  lifted  our  hair. 

"  Our  guns  were  up  in  an  instant,  and  the  'bang!  '  they  made  was  but  a 
single  sound.  Through  the  smoke  we  saw  a  large  creature  tip  over  backwards 
and  lie  with  its  paws  in  the  air,  while  two  smaller  ones  scurried  away. 

"  We  had  killed  a  female  jaguar,  and  it  was  her  cubs  that  had  run  off. 
They  stopped  just  beyond  the  line  of  reeds,  and  we  shot  them  both  very 
easily. 

"  It  must,  we  thought,  be  a  rather  good  day  for  jaguars,  for  it  was  plain 
that  this  one  could  n't  be  the  same  that  had  boarded  our  dugout,  though  she 
answered  our  purpose  just  as  well. 

"  The  skins  of  the  mother  and  cubs  were  perfect  beauties,  and  we  lost  no 
time  in  taking  them  off. 

"  The  next  day  we  got  back  to  Laguna.  An  American  vessel  had  arrived 
there  in  the  mean  time,  and  in  her  I  sailed  for  home. 

"  I  have  never  seen  Dick  Clark  since,  but  you  may  be  sure  that  neither  of 
us  will  ever  forget  the  day  we  wore  those  gourdshell  helmets." 

AN   UNWELCOME   SHIPMATE. 

Had  the  reader  seen  the  big  snake  skin  which  we  brought  home  from  South 
America  on  board  the  bark  "  Cayman,"  he  would  probably  have  wished  to  know 
how  we  became  possessed  of  such  a  trophy.  This  I  can  best  relate  by  describ- 
ing our  voyage. 

We  had  been  lying  for  some  weeks  at  Port  of  Spain,  in  the  island  of  Trini- 
dad, which  is  close  to  the  South  American  coast,  when  our  vessel  was  ordered 
to  the  river  Orinoco,  there  to  load  with  various  products  of  that  region.  Our 
immediate  port  of  destination  was  the  city  of  Angostura,  two  hundred  and  forty 
miles  from  the  ocean,  and  in  the  very  heart  of  Venezuela,  so  that  we  looked  for- 
ward to  the  trip  with  no  little  interest. 


STORIES  AND   STUDIES  IN  QUARANTINE.  205 

A  run  of  a  day  and  night  from  Port  of  Spain  brought  us  off  the  Boca  do 
Navios,  the  principal  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  ;  and  then  with  everything  set  before 
the  brisk  trade  wind,  we  began  to  stem  the  mighty  current. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  her  broad  wings,  the  bark's  progress  was  tediously  slow. 
There  was  no  steam-tug  to  give  us  a  lift  on  our  way,  and,  although  the  breeze 
was  directly  over  the  quarter,  we  could  not  make  a  mile  an  hour  against  the 
stream  at  the  best;  while  on  many  occasions,  as  the  wind  slackened,  it  became 
necessary  to  anchor  in  order  to  hold  our  own.  In  this  manner  we  worked  along 
day  after  da)'  and  night  after  night. 

But  the  vast  river  itself  was  magnificent.  Four  or  five  miles  wide,  and 
crowned  on  each  bank  with  a  seemingly  endless  forest,  it  gave  us  a  profound 
conception  of  Nature's  grandeur. 

And  then  how  deep  it  was,  too  !  Almost  like  the  sea  we  had  left  behind,  so 
that  our  fellows  grumbled  at  the  prodigious  amount  of  chain  they  had  to  handle 
in  our  many  anchorings,  though  these  were  always  made  near  one  shore  or  the 
other. 

At  such  times  we  could  see  troops  of  monkeys  and  flocks  of  beautiful  birds 
among  the  trees;  and  once  we  had  a  plain  view  of  a  jaguar  as  he  made  his  way 
along  the  bank,  occasionally  stopping  to  look  at  us. 

The  captain  and  mate  both  fired  at  him  with  their  revolvers,  but  were  unable 
to  hit  him,  and  he  finally  disappeared  very  leisurely  in  the  dark  woods. 

With  our  many  delays,  and  our  slow  creeping  against  a  current  that  was  so 
often  stronger  than  the  wind,  it  took  us  eighteen  days  to  accomplish  the  two 
hundred  and  forty  miles  of  river  passage;  but  at  last  we  reached  Angostura, 
and  once  more  stepped  on  shore. 

It  required  a  considerable  time  to  collect  all  the  numerous  articles  of  our 
cargo,  and  when  they  had  all  been  stowed  on  board,  we  could  have  supplied 
a  tannery  with  hides,  a  dye-house  with  indigo,  an  India-rubber  factory  with 
caoutchouc,  a  grocery  with  cacao,  or  a  drug  shop  with  sarsaparilla,  ipecac,  and 
Peruvian  bark;   for  all  these  articles  were  down  on  our  invoice. 

After  so  long  a  sojourn  at  the  sultry  Venezuelan  town,  there  was  an  exhilara- 
tion in  once  more  tumbling  the  furled  topsails  from  the  yards,  and  feeling  that 
the  stanch  bark  beneath  our  feet  was  at  last  in  motion,  bound  for  the  open  sea 
and  for  home. 

It  would  take  us  four  or  five  days  to  get  out  of  the  Orinoco;  for,  although 
the  current  was  now  in  our  favor,  the  trade  wind  was  against  us,  so  that  we 
should  have  to  make  continual  tacks  from  side  to  side  of  the  river,  in  order  to 
keep  our  sails  full  and  avoid  coming  to  a  standstill. 

Rut  we  were  off  for  the  dear  land  of  the  north,  and  every  one  was  happy. 


206  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

Even  old  Tommy,  the  captain's  big  white  cat,  seemed  to  purr  more  affection- 
ately than  usual  as  he  rubbed  himself  against  the  legs  of  our  wide  trowsers  and 
twisted  his  lithe  form  into  all  manner  of  graceful  shapes.  Tommy  was  a  great 
favorite  in  both  cabin  and  forecastle. 

We  had  another  pet,  also,  —  a  large,  gray  parrot,  —  which  hung  in  a  cage  by 
the  mainmast,  and  which  had  been  procured,  cage  and  all,  of  an  English  shop- 
keeper at  Port  of  Spain. 

Poll  was  an  everlasting  talker.  She  would  cry  out,  "Eight  bells;  call  the 
watch;  pump  ship!  "  as  plainly  as  any  one.  And,  although  at  first  afraid  of 
the  cat,  she  had  got  used  to  him,  and  would  call,  "  Tommy,  Tommy !  Come 
here,  old  shipmate  !  "   in  the  most  familiar  manner  imaginable. 

Sometimes  Tommy  would  obey  the  summons,  whereupon  Poll  would  drop 
bits  of  cracker  for  him,  squalling  in  a  kind  of  boisterous  delight  to  see  him  pick 
them  up.  The  season  of  flood  in  Venezuela  had  commenced,  and  in  passing 
down  the  Orinoco  we  found  it  much  higher  than  while  ascending  it.  The  trees 
on  its  banks  now  rose  directly  out  of  the  water,  which  reached  we  knew  not  how 
far  back  into  the  forest.  We  seemed  to  be  sailing  on  a  long  lake,  shut  in  by 
green  walls  that  had  no  visible  foundation.  The  wind  was  in  our  teeth,  but, 
with  the  friendly  current  all  the  while  sweeping  us  along  as  it  crossed  our  keel, 
we  got  on  swimmingly. 

But  on  the  third  day  an  odd  accident  happened.  We  had  made  a  tack  some- 
what close  to  the  shore,  when,  just  as  we  were  upon  the  point  of  going  about, 
our  rudder  became  wedged  by  a  stick  of  driftwood,  of  which  there  were  large 
quantities  floating  down  the  river. 

Finding  the  helm  unmanageable,  we  let  go  an  anchor  in  hopes  of  bringing 
the  vessel  up;  but,  in  spite  of  this,  she  went  straight  in  among  the  trees,  snap- 
ping off  her  jibboom,  fore-topmast,  and  main-top  gallant-mast. 

Here  was  a  tangle,  indeed  !  Vines,  branches,  and  broken  spars  were  all 
mixed  together ! 

Nevertheless,  as  we  were  still  afloat,  our  case  was  by  no  means  desperate. 
It  is  not  unusual  for  the  Orinoco  to  swell  twenty  feet  above  its  banks,  and  we 
judged  that  this  depth  of  water  was  still  beneath  us. 

The  bark  had  run  over  her  anchor,  and  by  heaving  at  the  cable,  as  it  passed 
under  her  bows  and  not  beyond  the  stern,  we  could  hope  to  move  her.  Rut  an 
abundance  of  cutting  and  clearing  must  first  be  done,  and,  as  night  was  at  hand, 
it  would  be  vain  to  think  of  getting  out  of  the  scrape  before  another  day. 

Our  fore-topmast,  which  had  broken  just  above  the  cap,  had  dropped  down 
till  its  lower  end  rested  upon  the  deck,  while  the  upper  part,  with  all  its  hamper, 
was  supported  by  the  trees  against  which  it  leaned.     The  main-top  gallant-mast 


STORIES  AND   STUDIES  IN  QUARANTINE.  207 

hung  to  the  branches  by  its  rigging,  and  the  jibboom  lay  under  the  bows. 
We  succeeded  in  unbending  the  fore-topsail,  but  this  was  about  all  we  could 
accomplish  before  dark.  The  sail  was  badly  torn,  and  we  piled  it  in  a  heap 
forward. 

Meanwhile  the  mosquitoes  put  us  in  a  torment.  Out  on  the  river  we  had 
never  been  troubled  with  them,  but  here  in  the  thicket  they  swarmed  by  mil- 
lions. That  night  the  officers  smoked  the  little  pests  out  of  the  cabin,  and  then 
fortified  the  entrance  with  netting,  while  we  before  the  mast  took  up  our  quarters 
in  the  top,  where  —  as  mosquitoes  seldom  get  much  above  a  ship's  deck  —  we 
were  left  in  peace. 

A  lantern  was  hung  on  the  main-stay,  and,  from  our  position  aloft,  we  were 
to  keep  a  one-man  watch  for  possible  contingencies.  Some  of  us  were  in  the 
fore-top  and  others  in  the  main.  My  own  lookout,  which  was  in  the  early  part 
of  the  night,  passed  without  incident,  and  it  was  near  daybreak  before  anything 
disturbed  us,  when,  all  at  once,  it  came  to  be  understood  that  some  unknown 
creature  was  stirring  on  board  the  vessel. 

Instantly  we  were  all  wide  awake  and  peering  down  from  the  tops  with 
startled  faces,  while  we  hurriedly  questioned  each  other  as  to  what  it  was,  where 
it  was,  and  who  had  the  last  watch.  The  lantern  did  not  light  up  the  deck  very 
well,  and  the  shadows  had  a  weird  look  to  us. 

"  I  see  it !  "  said  one  of  our  fellows,  at  length,  in  a  frightened  undertone. 
"Look!  There  it  is  under  the  port  bulwarks.  It's  a  big  snake.  Keep  still, 
or  he'll  be  up  here  in  a  jiffy!  " 

We  could  all  see  it  now,  though  in  the'  dim  lantern  light  its  hideous 
proportions  were  indistinct.  Sometimes,  indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  there  were 
two  snakes;  but  we  presently  concluded  that  there  was  only  one,  and  he  a 
monster. 

At  intervals  he  would  be  wholly  lost  to  sight,  and  again  some  portion  of  his 
horrid  folds  would  be  visible  as  he  crept  slowly  about  the  deck,  which  was  well 
lumbered  with  wreckage. 

At  last  he  went  over  the  bows  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness,  though 
whether  he  had  gone  down  into  the  water  or  had  got  hold  of  a  thick-leaved 
tree  that  was  close  to  the  bowsprit,  we  were  unable  to  say.  At  all  events,  we 
slept  no  more  that  night,  and  were  extremely  glad  to  see  the  daybreak. 

In  the  morning  the  officers  heard  our  story  with  great  interest,  shuddering 
to  think  what  would  have  been  their  situation  had  the  monster  chosen  to  come 
through  the  mosquito  netting  and  explore  the  cabin. 

It  made  us  creep  all  over  to  recall  the  night's  experience,  and  we  determined 
to  get  the  bark  out  of  her  berth  that  day,  if  work  would  accomplish  it. 


208  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

We  sat,  "Turk-fashion,"  on  the  forward  part  of  the  deck  to  eat  our  break- 
fast, while  near  us  lay  the  fore-topsail  in  a  pile,  as  it  had  been  left  tiie  evening 
previous. 

The  white  cat,  Tommy,  climbed  upon  the  heap  of  canvas.  The  next  mo- 
ment he  bounded  oft"  upon  the  deck,  and  with  back  and  tail  bristling,  whirled 
around  to  look  behind  him. 

At  the  same  time  there  was  a  movement  of  the  pile,  and  as  we  sprang  to 
our  feet,  the  head  and  neck  of  a  great  serpent  shot  out  from  the  folds  of  the 
sail. 

An  instant  of  frozen  terror,  and  then  how  we  tumbled  over  each  other! 
Some  ran  into  the  galley,  and  others  into  the  small  house  on  the  booby-hatch. 
The  officers  were  at  breakfast  in  the  cabin.  Nobody  fled  aloft,  —  we  knew 
better  than  to  do  that,  —  at  least,  nobody  did  so  except  Tommy,  and  he,  follow- 
ing the  instinct  of  his  race,  sprang  into  the  main  rigging. 

His  terrible  enemy  was  rushing  after  him,  and  had  actually  mounted  above 
the  bulwarks,  when  Poll's  loud  screaming  from  her  cage  appeared  to  attract  his 
attention.      The  poor  bird  was  in  a  great  fluster. 

"  Oh,  what's  the  matter  now?  "   she  cried. 

And  this  query  was  followed  by  a  succession  of  wild  outcries  that  showed 
her  to  be  dreadfully  frightened. 

The  snake  had  raised  himself  for  nearly  his  whole  length  up  the  shrouds, 
but- he  now  stopped,  and  craning  his  thin,  tapering  neck  toward  the  parrot, 
uttered  a  frightful  hiss. 

He  had  seen  that  Tommy  was  too  nimble  for  him,  while  Polly's  flutterings 
and  squallings  had  put  him  in  mind  of  other  prey. 

Down  he  came  from  the  rigging,  making  straight  for  this  new  object,  when 
"  crack,  crack  !  "  went  the  captain's  revolver  from  the  cabin  door. 

He  fired  two  shots  and  missed  with  both.  Then  the  mate  discharged  three 
bullets,  with  no  better  success. 

The  snake,  paying  not  the  least  attention  to  his  human  enemies  struck  the 
cage  violently  with  his  frightful  jaws,  knocking  it  from  its  place,  but  retaining 
his  hold  of  it  as  it  fell. 

Half  a  minute  more,  and  parrot,  cage  and  all  would  have  been  travelling  down 
that  living  lane  had  not  the  two  officers  improved  in  their  marksmanship.  Two 
of  their  balls  just  then  struck  the  reptile,  one  in  the  head,  the  other  in  the  neck, 
and  their  effect  was  instantaneous. 

At  once  disabled,  the  monster  thrashed  about  in  sickening  contortions,  lash- 
ing the  deck  fearfully,  while  his  two  assailants  emptied  the  remaining  chambers 
of  their  weapons  with  the  steadiest  nerve  they  could  muster. 


STORIES  AND  STUDIES  IN  QUARANTINE.  209 

But  there  was  no  need  of  more  shots.  The  furious  writhings  became  less 
and  less,  at  length  ceasing  altogether,  though  the  snaky  tail  showed  signs  of 
life  for  more  than  two  hours. 

Then  the  limp,  horrible  body  was  stretched  out  and  measured.  We  found 
it  to  be  twenty-eight  feet  long  and  about  twenty-two  inches  around  in  the 
largest  part.  The  serpent  was  of  the  boa  family,  and  checkered  with  black 
and  yellow. 

Probably  there  had  been  two  of  them  on  board  in  the  night,  one  crawling 
away  as  we  had  seen  at  the  time,  and  the  other  wriggling  himself  into  the  loose 
pile  of  canvas. 

All  the  shots  fired  by  the  captain  and  mate  had  been  discharged  from  the 
companion-way,  with  the  road  of  retreat  well  open  behind  them. 

They  now  stripped  off  the  mottled  skin,  while  we  sailors  stood  looking  on, 
shuddering  at  the  bare  thought  of  touching  the  hideous  thing. 

We  could  reef  topsails  in  the  blackest  squall  that  ever  blew,  but  we  wanted 
nothing  to  do  with  a  snake. 

Pretty  Poll  remained  unharmed,  in  spite  of  her  rough  usage,  though  her 
cage  was  sadly  battered  and  bent.  It  was  some  hours  before  she  got  over  her 
fright,  however,  and  she  would  keep  screaming,  — 

"Throw  him  overboard  —  throw  him  overboard!  I'm  most  scared  to 
death !  " 

As  for  Tommy,  he  came  down  from  aloft  when  all  was  over,  but  his  eyes 
still  looked  big  and  wild,  and  his  tail  indicated  an  unsettled  state  of  mind. 

We  got  the  vessel  out  of  her  bad  predicament  before  another  night,  and, 
anchoring  in  the  river,  proceeded  to  repair  damages.  After  a  few  days  our 
broken  spars  had  been  replaced  by  others,  and  the  sails  again  bent,  so  that 
everything  was  shipshape. 

Then  we  beat  through  the  Boca  de  Navios,  and  three  weeks  later  arrived 
safely  at  New  York. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  snake  skin  which  we  brought  home  in  the  bark 
"Cayman."  It  was  afterwards  stuffed,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  is  still  on  exhibi- 
tion as  a  curiosity. 


The  detention  led  to  the  discussion  of  many  topics  relating  to  the 
consulates,  among  them  "leaves  of  absence  "  and  "salaries." 

The  study  of  the  topic  "  leaves  of  absence  "  was  interesting,  as  the 
schedule  furnished  by  the  State  Department  furnished  a  kind  of  geog- 

14 


2IO  ZIGZAG  JOURXEYS   ON  THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

raphy  lesson  of  the  longest  periods  of  modern  travel,  usually  twice  the 
time  needed  for  ocean  voyages  being  allowed  the  consul  on  his  journey 
from  the  ports  of  the  United  States  to  his  place  of  appointment.  The 
latest  "  regulation  "  is  as  follows :  — 

LEAVES   OF  ABSENCE. 

Under  the  authority  conferred  upon  the  Secretary  of  State  by  law,  the 
following  have  been  established,  and  determined,  and  made  public,  as  the 
maximum  amounts  of  time  allowed  for  transit  between  salaried  consular  posts 
in  the  several  countries  named  and  the  city  of  Washington,  and  vice  versa, 
viz  :  — 

Argentine  Republic,  forty-five  days.  Austria-Hungary,  thirty  days.  Bar- 
bary  States,  thirty-five  days.  Belgium,  twenty  days.  Brazil,  forty  days.  Chili, 
forty-five  days.  China  (except  Tien-Tsin),  fifty  days;  Tien-Tsin,  ninety  days. 
Colombia:  Barranquilla,  sixteen  days  ;  Bogota,  thirty-five  days  ;  Colon,  sixteen 
days;  Panama,  sixteen  days.  Congo  State,  fifty  days.  Corea,  sixty-five  days. 
Costa  Rica,  twenty-five  days.  Denmark,  twenty-five  days  ;  St.  Thomas,  fifteen 
days.  Ecuador,  thirty-five  days.  Egypt,  thirty-five  days.  France,  twenty 
days.  French  possessions :  Algiers,  thirty-five  days  ;  Gaboon,  fifty  days ; 
Guadeloupe,  thirty  days;  Martinique,  twenty-five  days ;  Tahiti,  seventy  days. 
Friendly  and  Navigator's  Islands,  seventy  days.  Germany,  twenty-five  days. 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  twenty  days ;  British  possessions:  Aden,  forty  days; 
Antigua,  thirty  days ;  Australia,  fifty  days  ;  Barbadoes,  twenty  days  ;  Ber- 
muda, ten  days ;  Bombay,  sixty  days ;  Calcutta,  sixty  days  ;  Canada  (except 
Gaspe  Basin,  New  Brunswick,  Prince  Edward  Island,  Victoria,  and  Winnipeg), 
three  days;  Cape  Town,  fifty-five  days;  Ceylon,  fifty  days;  Demerara,  fort}' 
days;  Falkland  Islands,  seventy  days;  Fiji  Islands,  seventy  days  ;  Gaspe  Basin, 
six  days;  Gibraltar,  twenty-five  days;  Hong-Kong,  fifty  days;  Kingston,  Ja- 
maica, twenty  days;  Malta,  thirty  days  ;  Mauritius,  ninety  days  ;  Nassau,  fifteen 
days ;  New  Brunswick,  six  days ;  New  Zealand,  fifty  days  ;  Nova  Scotia,  six 
days ;  Prince  Edward  Island,  six  days  ;  St.  Helena,  forty-five  days ;  Sierra 
Leone,  fifty  days  ;  Singapore,  sixty  days  ;  Turk's  Island,  twenty  days  ;  Victoria, 
twenty-five  days ;  Winnipeg,  fifteen  days.  Greece,  thirty-five  days.  Guate- 
mala, thirty  days.  Hayti,  fifteen  days.  Hawaiian  Islands,  thirty-five  days. 
Honduras,  twenty-five  days.  Italy,  thirty  days.  Japan,  forty  days.  Liberia, 
forty  days.  Madagascar,  seventy  days.  Muscat,  sixty  days.  Mexico:  Aca- 
pulco,  twenty-five  days;    Guaymas,  twenty-five  days;   Matamoras,  twelve  days; 


STORIES  AND  STUDIES  IX  QUARANTINE.  211 

Merida,  twenty  days;  Mexico,  eighteen  days;  Nogales,  fifteen  days;  Nuevo 
Laredo,  twelve  days;  Paso  del  Norte,  twelve  days;  Piedras  Negras,  twelve 
days ;  Tampico,  twenty  days ;  Vera  Cruz,  fifteen  days.  Netherlands,  twenty 
days;  Batavia,  Java,  sixty  days :  Nicaragua,  twenty-five  days.  Paraguay,  sixty 
days.  Persia,  sixty-five  days.  Peru,  forty  days.  Portugal,  thirty  days.  Portu- 
guese possessions:  Fayal,  thirty  days;  Funchal,  thirty  days;  Mozambique, 
ninety  days;  Santiago  C.  V.  I.),  forty  days;  St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  ninety  days. 
Russia:  Odessa,  thirty  days;  St.  Petersburg,  forty-five  days.  Salvador,  twenty- 
five  days.  San  Domingo,  fifteen  days.  Siam.  sixty  days.  Spain,  twenty-five 
days.  Spanish  possessions:  Baracoa,  fifteen  days ;  Cardenas,  fifteen  days ; 
Cienfuegos,  twelve  days;  Havana,  ten  days;  Manila,  sixty  days;  Matanzas, 
ten  days  ;  Puerto  Rico,  twenty  days;  Sagua  la  Grande,  twelve  days;  Santiago 
de  Cuba,  twelve  days.  Sweden  and  Norway,  twenty-five  days.  Switzerland, 
twenty-five  days.  Turkey,  forty  days.  Uruguay,  forty-five  days.  Venezuela, 
twenty-five  days.     Zanzibar,  seventy  days. 

The  salaries  of  consuls  are  as  a  rule  not  large.  The  consuls-general 
are  fairly  well  paid,  but  the  consuls  at  the  smaller  ports  rarely  receive 
more  than  $1500  per  annum. 

The  best  paid  consulates  are  as  follows,  and  the  study  of  the  sche- 
dule will  furnish  a  good  lesson  of  the  commercial  value  of  the  ports 
named :  — 

SALARIES    CONSULAR    SERVICE. 

Consuls-general  at  Havana,  London,  Paris,  and  Rio  de  Janeiro,  at  six  thou- 
sand dollars  each,  twenty-four  thousand  dollars. 

Consuls-general  at  Calcutta  and  Shanghai,  at  five  thousand  dollars  each,  ten 
thousand  dollars. 

Consul-general  at  Melbourne,  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

Consuls-general  at  Berlin,  Honolulu,  Kanagawa,  Montreal,  and  Panama,  at 
four  thousand  dollars  each,  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

Consul-general  at  Halifax,  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

Consuls-general  at  Constantinople,  Ecuador,  Frankfort,  Rome,  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  Vienna,  at  three  thousand  dollars  each,  eighteen  thousand  dollars. 

Consul-general  at  Mexico,  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

For  salaries  of  consuls,  vice-consuls,  and  commercial  agents,  three  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  as  follows,  namely:  — 

Consul  at  Liverpool,  six  thousand  dollars;  consul  at  Hong-Kong,  five  thou- 
sand dollars. 


212  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

CLASS  II. — At  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum:  China, 
consuls  at  Amor,  Canton,  Chin-Kiang,  Foo-Chow,  Hankow,  and  Tcin-Tsin; 
Peru,  consul  at  Callao. 

Class  III.  —  At  three  thousand  dollars  per  annum:  Belgium,  consul  at 
Antwerp;  Chili,  consul  at  Valparaiso  ;  China,  consul  at  Xingpo  ;  France,  consul 
at  Havre;  Great  Britain  and  British  dominions,  consuls  at  Belfast,  Bradford, 
Demerara,  Glasgow,  Manchester,  Ottawa,  and  Singapore;  Japan,  consuls  at 
Nagasaki,  and  Osaka  and  Hiogo;  Mexico,  consul  at  Vera  Cruz;  Spanish 
dominions,  consul  at  Matanzas  Cuba);  United  States  of  Colombia,  consul  at 
Colon  (Aspinwall). 

Class  IV.  —  At  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum:  Argentine 
Republic,  consul  at  Buenos  Ayres  ;  Belgium,  consul  at  Brussels;  Danish  domin- 
ions, consul  at  St.  Thomas;  France,  consuls  at  Bordeaux,  Lyons,  and  Mar- 
seilles; German}',  consuls  at  Annaberg,  Bremen,  Brunswick,  Dresden,  Hamburg, 
and  Mayence ;  Greece,  consul  at  Athens ;  Great  Britain  and  British  dominions, 
consuls  at  Birmingham,  Dundee,  Leith,  Nottingham,  Sheffield,  Tunstall,  and 
Victoria  ( British  Columbia)  ;  Spanish  dominions,  consuls  at  Cienfuegos  and 
Santiago  de  Cuba;  Switzerland,  consul  at  St.  Galle ;  Turkish  dominions,  consul 
at  Smyrna. 

Class  V.  —  At  two  thousand  dollars  per  annum:  Austria-Hungary,  consuls 
at  Trieste  and  Prague;  Barbary  States,  consul  at  Tangier;  Brazil,  consul  at 
Pernambuco;  Colombia,  consul  at  Barranquilla ;  Costa  Rica,  consul  at  San 
Jose;  France,  consuls  at  Rheims  and  St.  Etienne ;  Friendly  and  Navigator's 
Islands,  consul  at  Apia ;  Germany,  consuls  at  Barmen,  Chemnitz,  Cologne, 
Crefeld,  Dusseldorf,  Elberfeld,  Leipsic,  Nuremburg,  and  Sonneberg;  Great 
Britain  and  British  dominions,  consuls  at  Cardiff,  Chatham,  Cork,  Dublin, 
Dunfermline,  Hamilton  (Canada),  Kingston  (Jamaica),  Leeds,  Nassau  (New 
Providence),  Port  Louis  (Mauritius),  Port  Stanley  and  St.  Thomas  (Canada), 
St.  John  ('New  Brunswick),  Sherbrook  (Canada),  Sydney  (New  South 
Wales),  and  Toronto  (Canada);  Honduras,  consul  at  Tegucigalpa;  Italy, 
consul  at  Palermo;  Madagascar,  consul  at  Tamatava;  Mexico,  consuls  at 
Acapulco  and  Matamoras ;  Netherlands,  consul  at  Rotterdam;  Nicaragua, 
consuls  at  Managua  and  San  Juan  del  Norte;  Russia,  consul  at  Odessa;  Sal- 
vador, consul  at  San  Salvador;  Spain  and  Spanish  dominions,  consuls  at  Manila 
(Philippine  Islands),  San  Juan  (Porto  Rico),  and  Sagua  la  Grande  (Cuba), 
Switzerland,  consuls  at  Basle,  Horgcn,  and  Zurich  ;  Turkish  dominions,  consuls 
at  Beirut  and  Jerusalem;  Uruguay,  consul  at  Montevideo;  Venezuela,  consul 
at  Maricaibo. 

At  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum:    Brazil,  consuls  at  Bahia, 


STORIES  AND  STUDIES  IN  QUARANTINE.  213 

Para,  and  Santos;  Belgium,  consul  at  Liege  and  Verviers ;  Denmark,  consul  at 
Copenhagen  ;  France  and  French  dominions,  consuls  at  Cognac,  Guadeloupe, 
Martinique,  and  Nice;  Germany,  consuls  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Breslau,  Kehl, 
Mannheim,  Munich,  and  Stuttgart;  Great  Britain  and  British  dominions,  consuls 
at  Amherstburg  (Canada),  Antigua  (West  Indies),  Auckland  (New  Zealand), 
Barbadoes,  Bermuda,  Bristol,  Brockville,  Cape  Town,  Ceylon  (India),  Charlotte- 
town  (Prince  Edward  Island),  Clifton  (Canada),  Fort  Erie  (Canada),  Goderich 
(Canada),  Gibraltar,  Guelph  (Canada),  Kingston  (Canada),  London  (Canada), 
Malta,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  Quebec,  Pictou  (Canada),  Port  Hope  (Canada),  Port 
Sarnia  (Canada),  Port  Stanley  (Falkland  Islands),  Prescott  (Canada),  South- 
ampton, St.  Helena,  St.  John's  (Canada),  St.  Stephen  (Canada),  Stratford  (Can- 
ada), Three  Rivers  (Canada),  Windsor  (Canada),  and  Winnipeg  (Manitoba); 
Italy,  consuls  at  Florence,  Genoa,  Leghorn,  Messina,  Milan,  and  Naples;  Mex- 
ico, consuls  at  Paso  del  Norte  and  Tampico ;  Netherlands,  consul  at  Amster- 
dam; Paraguay,  consul  at  Asuncion;  Portuguese  dominions,  consuls  at  Fayal 
(Azures),  and  Funchal  (Madeira)  ;  San  Domingo,  consul  at  San  Domingo  ;  Spain, 
consuls  at  Barcelona,  Cadiz,  and  Malaga;  Switzerland,  consul  at  Geneva  ;  Tur- 
key, consul  at  Sivas  ;  Venezuela,  consuls  at  La  Guayra  and  Puerto  Cabello. 

Class  VI.  —  Belgium,  consul  at  Ghent;  Brazil,  consul  at  Rio  Grande  do 
Sul  ;  Chili,  consul  at  Telcahuano,  France  and  French  dominions,  consuls  at 
Algiers  and  Nantes;  Germany,  consul  at  Stettin;  Great  Britain  and  British 
dominions,  consuls  at  Bombay  (India),  Gaspe  Basin  (Canada;,  Sierra  Leone 
(West  Africa),  Turk's  Island,  and  Windsor  (Nova  Scotiai;  Hayti,  consul  at 
Cape  Haytien  ;  Honduras,  consul  at  Ruatan  and  Truxillo  (to  reside  at  Utilla)  ; 
Italy,  consul  at  Venice  ;  Mexico,  consuls  at  Guaymas,  Nuevo  Laredo,  and 
Piedras  Negras ;  Muscat,  consul  at  Zanzibar;  Netherlands,  consul  at  Batavia  ; 
Portuguese  dominions,  consul  at  Santiago  (Cape  Verde  Islands);  Society 
Islands,  consul  at  Tahiti  ;  Sweden  and  Norway,  consul  at  Christiania. 

COMMERCIAL   AGENCIES. 

SCHEDULE  C.  —  Gaboon,  Levuka,  and  St.  Paul  dc  Loando. 

And  in  the  estimates  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine,  there  shall  be  estimated  for  specifically,  under  classified 
consulates,  all  consulates  and  commercial  agencies  where  the  fees  collected  or 
compensation  allowed  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred 
and  eighty-seven,  exceed  one  thousand  dollars. 

Consular  Clerks.  —  Six  consular  clerks,  at  one  thousand  two  hundred 
dollars  per  annum  each,  seven  thousand  two  hundred  dollars. 


214  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

Seven  consular  clerks,  at  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum  each,  seven 
thousand  dollars. 

CONSULAR  OFFICERS  NOT  CITIZEN'S.  —  For  salaries  of  consular  officers  not 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  six  thousand  dollars. 

Allowance  for  Clerks  at  Consulates.  —  For  allowance  for  clerks  at 
consulates,  fifty  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  the  sum  to  be 
allowed  at  each  consulate  not  to  exceed  the  rate  herein  specified,  as  follows:  — 

Consul  at  Liverpool,  two  thousand  dollars. 

Consul-general  at  Havana,  one  thousand  six  hundred  dollars. 

Consul-general  at  Shanghai,  one  thousand  two  hundred  dollars. 

Consuls-general  at  London,  Paris,  and  Rio  de  Janeiro,  at  one  thousand  six 
hundred  dollars  each,  four  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars. 

Consuls-general  at  Berlin,  Frankfort,  Vienna,  Montreal,  and  Kanagawa,  and 
consuls  at  Hamburg,  Bremen,  Manchester,  Lyons,  Hong-Kong,  Havre,  Crefcld, 
and  Chemnitz,  at  one  thousand  two  hundred  dollars  each,  fifteen  thousand  six 
hundred  dollars. 

Consuls  at  Bradford,  Birmingham,  and  Marseilles,  at  nine  hundred  and  sixty 
dollars  each,  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight)'  dollars. 

Consuls-general  at  Calcutta,  Port  an  Prince,  and  Melbourne,  and  consuls  at 
Leipsic,  Sheffield,  Sonneberg,  Dresden,  .Antwerp,  Nuremburg,  Tunstall,  Bor- 
deaux, Colon,  Singapore,  Glasgow,  and  Panama,  at  eight  hundred  dollars  each, 
twelve  thousand  dollars. 

Consuls  at  Belfast,  Barmen,  Leith,  Dundee,  and  Victoria,  and  the  consuls- 
general  at  Matamoras  and  Halifax,  at  six  hundred  and  fort)-  dollars  each,  four 
thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty  dollars. 

Consuls-general  at  Mexico  and  Berne,  and  consuls  at  Malaga,  Naples, 
Genoa,  Stuttgart,  Florence,  Mannheim,  Prague,  Zurich,  Beirut,  and  Demerara, 
at  four  hundred  and  eight)'  dollars  each,  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty 
dollars. 

For  an  additional  allowance  for  clerks  at  consulates,  to  be  expended  under 
the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  consulates  not  herein  provided  for  in 
respect  to  clerk-hire,  no  greater  portion  of  this  sum  than  four  hundred  dollars 
to  be  allowed  to  any  one  consulate  in  any  one  fiscal  year,  twenty  thousand 
dollars:  Provided,  That  the  total  sum  expended  in  one  year  shall  not  exceed 
the  amount  appropriated :  And  provided  further,  That  out  of  the  amount 
hereby  appropriated  the  Secretary  of  State  may  make  such  allowance  as  may 
to  him  seem  proper  to  any  interpreter  for  clerical  services,  in  addition  to  his 
pay  as  interpreter. 


STORIES  AND  STCDIES  IN  QUARANTINE.  215 

The  whole  consular  service  of  the  United  States  is  managed  with 
rigid  economy.  The  times  demand  a  more  accomplished  representa- 
tion, with  more  liberal  salaries.  Such  a  reform  is  sure  to  come.  The 
American  boy,  like  the  English  boy  now,  will  one  day  seek  and  require 
a  special  education  for  all  services  in  the  Department  of  State. 


CHAPTER   XI. 


THE   MEDITERRANEAN   AND  ITS   LEGENDS. 


HE  Mediterranean!  —  its  history  is  that  of  the  ancient 
world.  All  the  mighty  events  of  the  past  are  in  some 
way  associated  with  its  shores.  It  well  was  called 
the  "  midland  sea."  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  en- 
closed it,  and  around  its  ports  the  capitals  of  the 
empires  that  dominated  the  world  for  thousands  of 
years,  rose,  shone,  and  fell. 

The  great  water-plain  has  a  surface  of  nearly  one  million  square 
miles,  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  bodies  of  inland  water  in  the  world. 
The  Sea  of  Marmora,  the  Sea  of  Azof,  and  the  Black  Sea  are  prop- 
erly a  part  of  it.  It  is  twenty-three  hundred  miles  long  and  more  than 
one  thousand  wide  in  its  greatest  breadth.  In  some  places  it  is  three 
thousand  feet  deep,  and  in  some  other  places  five  thousand  feet.  At 
Nice  it  is  forty-two  hundred  feet  deep  close  to  the  shores,  and  the  Straits 
of  Gibraltar,  by  which  it  connects  with  the  ocean,  are  fifty-five  hundred 
feet  deep.  Some  five  hundred  species  of  fishes  inhabit  its  waters. 
Tunny  fishing  is  followed  as  an  industry  on  its  shores.  The  old  tales 
of  the  fishermen  of  the  midland  sea  would  fill  volumes. 

The  hot  winds  from  the  deserts  of  Africa  affect  its  atmosphere, 
and  the  cool  winds  of  many  mountain  chains.  The  giant  wind  that 
ships  fear  is  called  the  levanter.  Another  wind  peculiar  to  the  sea  is 
called  the  solano.  The  levanter  is  a  powerful  east  wind,  as  its  name 
implies.     The  solano  carries  its  meaning  also  in  its  name. 


THE   MEDITERRANEAN  AND  ITS    LEGENDS.  2lg 

The  color  of  the  sea  is  blue,  and  a  shining  blue  as  it  appears  in 
the  sun  and  calm.  It  changes  color;  in  the  Adriatic  it  is  green,  and 
in  the  Euxine  it  has  a  dark  hue. 

It  is  beautiful  in  midsummer,  when  the  winds  are  laid,  and  it  lies 
in  deep  purple  under  a  purple  sky,  and  the  clear  atmosphere  reveals 
the  shores  which  are  the  history  of  the  old  world.  In  ancient  times, 
the  Pillars  of  Hercules  of  the  >ea,  now  Gibraltar,  were  supposed  to 
be  the  end  of  the  world.  The  invention  of  the  mariners'  compass  and 
the  daring  of  Columbus  left  the  great  sea  to  the  realms  of  history,  as 
opened  the  ocean  world. 

The  history  of  the  sea,  like  that  of  all  the  empires  on  its  shores, 
began  in  fable.  Here  was  the  kingdom  of  Neptune,  here  were  birds 
with  human  features,  dolphins  with  wonderful  intelligence,  monsters, 
nymphs,  and  singing  shells.  The  old  Greek  and  Roman  poets  peopled 
it  with  imaginary  beings. 

Its  shores  led  the  first  migrations  to  the  West.  From  the  early 
days  of  the  known  world,  man  has  been  moving  westward.  The  end 
of  the  march  of  the  nations  to  the  West  is  the  Pacific  coast  of  North 
and  South  America;  then  comes  the  East  again.  For  thousands  of 
years  the  march  of  civilization  was  toward  the  Pillar>  of  Hercules. 
When  Spain  became  a  great  power  and  expelled  the  Moors,  the  sea 
awaited  its  Columbus. 

Take  the  map  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  glance  along  its  shores 
from  Trebizond  on  the  Black  Sea  to  Cadiz.  What  names  that  stand 
for  histories !  Pass  the  Bosphorus,  and  let  your  eye  circle  the  midland 
waters.     What  visions  rise  ! 

Constantinople,  the  city  of  Constantine,  the  glittering  capital  of  an 
empire  whose  arts  and  arms  followed  Rome  in  the  glory  of  the  world  ! 
There  gleams  the  crown  of  St.  Sophia,  for  crescent  followed  the  cross. 

Smyrna,  Beyrut,  Jerusalem,  with  joppa,  its  port,  —  Jerusalem,  near 
the  sea,  which  has  touched  all  life  with  the  teachings  of  the  fatherhood 
of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man. 


220  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

Alexandria  and  the  portals  of  the  Nile;  —  Egypt  lifts  herself  in 
dusky  air.  Thence  kings  went  forth  to  conquer  the  world.  Armies 
of  slaves  built  the  tombs  of  those  kings,  whose  aims  were  luxury  and 
a  paradise  of  delights,  and  who  feasted  on  the  spoils  of  nations  from 
cups  of  gold,  and  dreamed  of  lotus  lands  in  the  unseen  worlds,  and 
of  returning  again  to  the  embalmed  habitations  of  their  former  life. 

Tripoli,  Tunis,  Algiers, —  on  these  shores  Carthage  once  was. 
Thence  Hannibal  [how?]  drove  his  elephants  over  the  blue  sea. 
From  those  fallen  cities  of  splendor  and  power  that  lined  the  southern 
shore  came  the  war  on  the  Aryan  race. 

Who  are  the  Aryan  race?  The  Asiatic  tribes  that  moved  west- 
ward, possessed  Europe,  produced  a  Columbus,  and  found  the  new 
world.  In  a  sense,  we  are  a  part  of  the  Aryan  race.  The  Aryans  fol- 
lowed the  evening  star.  Our  country  might  well  have  been  called  the 
Hesperides. 

Sweep  along  the  northern  coast  of  the  sea.  Granada,  Valentia,  Bar- 
celona,—  they  hover  on  the  border  of  the  history  of  our  Western  life. 

Marseilles,  Genoa,  and  Rome,  cities  of  fate;  —  for  a  thousand  years 
Rome  was  the  world. 

Naples,  Venice,  Corfu,  Athens ;  —  the  blue  tides  run  from  the 
Grecian  cities  of  the  arts  to  the   Roman   cities  of  arms. 

Imaginary  gods  arose  and  vanished  with  the  old  empires.  Their 
names  haunt  the  shores.  We  can  almost  fancy  that  we  see  the  horse 
of  Neptune  plunging  in  the  sea,  and  leaving  the  waves  in  white  foam. 

Do  we  breathe  the  lotus,  we  see  in  it  a  daughter  of  Neptune, 
who  was  changed  into  the  flower. 

Do  we  pluck  the  narcissus,  we  see  in  it  the  youth  who  loved 
the  beautiful  maiden  whose  features  were  like  his  own,  and  whom 
when  she  was  dead  the  same  youth  used  to  see  in  his  own  features 
reflected  in  a  fountain. 

Do  we  wander  in  the  groves  of  old  trees  in  the  far  East,  the  leaves 
breathe,  "  Hylas,  where  art  thou  ?  " 


THE  MEDITERRANEAN  AND   ITS  LEGENDS.  223 

Do  we  walk  over  the  ruin  of  an  old  Roman  villa,  the  "  lar,"  the 
fairy  of  the  hearth,  starts   up  before  our  fancy. 

We  pass  Scylla,  to  recall  the  tales  of  the  Sirens,  the  wandering- 
rocks,  and  the  six  men  ot  the  crew  of  Ulysses.  You  can  almost  see 
the  monster  Scylla,  with  her  twelve  necks  and  six  heads,  and  her  long- 
arms  reaching  out  for  sea-dogs  and  porpoises.  You  have  heard  in 
fable  that  out  of  each  ship  she  takes  a  man,  and  you  wonder  if  that 
man  will  he  you,  and  down  which  of  her  necks  you  will  go. 

The  fable  of  Oceanus  comes  back  here,  as  the  first  dream  of  the 
vast  waters  of  the  West.  Oceanus  was  the  first-born  of  the  Titans, 
the  offspring  of  Ccelus  and  Terra,  or  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  The 
children  of  Oceanus  were  the  rivers,  and  the  Oceanides,  or  the  three 
thousand  nymphs  of  the  ocean. 

Oceanus  lived  in  the  West.  The  poets  were  right  —  he  did.  He 
came  from  the  West  to  comfort  Prometheus.  The  allegory  came  true 
in  history. 

Prometheus  stole  the  fire  of  heaven,  and  gave  it  to  man  to  serve 
the  human  race.  All  arts  came  out  of  the  fire,  and  so  he  stands  as 
the  benefactor  of  men.  For  stealing  the  sacred  fire  he  was  punished 
by  being  chained  to  a  rock  and  by  the  preying  of  a  vulture  upon  his 
liver  (heart),  which  as  fast  as  it  was  consumed  grew  again.  The 
appearance  of  Oceanus  to  comfort  him,  as  water  quenches  fire,  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  legends  of  the  Orient. 

Another  charming  tale  of  the  Mediterranean  is  Arion.  We  give  it 
in  the  version  of  Herodotus. 

Arion  lived  with  Periander,  king  of  Corinth.  His  fame  as  a  poet  had  filled 
all  lands;  and  he  suddenly  felt  a  desire  to  travel  and  to  visit  those  who  loved  the 
muse.  He  went  to  Sicily  and  to  Italy,  and  landed  on  the  beautiful  coast  of  the 
Adriatic.  His  songs  in  these  countries  brought  him  great  wealth.  He  took 
sail  for  Greece,  but  the  sailors  on  the  ship,  learning  of  his  treasures,  formed  a 
plot  to  kill  him  in  order  to  enrich  themselves. 

"  Kill  yourself  on  deck,"  said  the  sailors,  "  or  leap  into  the  sea." 


224  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  Let  mc  dress  myself  in  my  festal  robes  and  sing  once  more,"  said  the 
poet. 

He  presently  appeared  on  the  prow  with  his  lyre,  and  began  to  play  the 
enchanting  Orphean  strain.  The  dolphins  heard  the  music,  and  one  of  them 
swam  close  to  the  ship.  Arion  threw  himself  overboard,  and  the  dolphin  re- 
ceived him  on  his  back  and  bore  him  to  Greece.  When  the  sailors  reached 
their  port  they  were  put  to   death. 

We  once  arranged  this  beautiful  story  for  recitation  with  musical 
accompaniment.  We  recommended  the  use  of  Rubenstein's  "  Dying- 
Poet"  as  the  accompaniment.  We  present  this  effort  at  musical  story- 
telling here.  Some  of  our  readers  may  like  to  use  it  for  a  reading  as 
we  have  arranged  it. 

ARION. 

A  Recitation  for  Piano  Accompaniment. 
Captain,  loquitur. — 

"  Sailors  of  Corinth,  the  west  winds  blow  free. 
And  the  wings  of  the  twilight  spread  over  the  sea, 
And  Hesper  above  us  shines  mirrored  below. 
And  the  moon  rises  slow,  the  moon  rises  slow. 
Arion,  he  stands  on  the  prow,  and  afar 
His  poet's  eye  catches  the  rose  of  a  star. 
Ah.  never  again  shall  his  young  eye  behold 
Yon  crimson  star  burn  in  the  shadows  of  gold  ! 

"  Sailors  of  Corinth,  night  darkens  the  air: 
Go,  tell  the  young  bard  for  his  fate  to  prepare. 
The  purple-lipped  waters  more  restlessly  flow. 
And  the  moon  rises  slow,  the  moon  rises  slow. 
Arion.  ho,  ho  !  drop  thine  eye  from  the  star, 
The  great  disk  of  Dian  is  rising  afar, 
Take  thy  last  drink  of  bliss  of  the  sea  and  the  sky. 
Young  bard  of  Corinthia,  this  night  thou  shalt  die. 

"  Thy  suave  lyre  lias  charmed  the  Etrusian  glades. 
And  sigh  for  it  still  the  Sicilian  maids  ; 
Thou  hast  led  the  light  dance  where  the  purple  wines  flow, 
When  Dian  her  night-shield  held  o'er  thee  aglow. 


LOGGIA    DI    LAXZI,    FLORENCE. 


THE  MEDITERRANEAN  A.XD  ITS  LEGENDS.  227 

Thou  has  haunted  the  courts  of  the  languorous  kings, 
In  Sicilian  airs  breathed  the  raptures  divine, 
Where  gold  fell  in  showers  and  garlands  and  rings, 
And  jewelled  cups  hailed  thee  with  Samian  wine. 

"  Thou  hast  harvested  crowns,  and  thy  coffers  of  gold 
Weigh  down  the  light  ship,  and  we  watch  them  below; 
But  thy  gems  now  are  ours,  all  thy  treasures  untold. 
O'er  thy  grave  in  the  sea,  lo !  the  moon  rises  slow. 
Apollo  flayed  Marsyas  for  playing  too  sweet; 
To  a  spider  Minerva  changed  Ariadne,  and  now, 
O  subtle  enchanter,  to  spoil  thee  is  meet; 
Get  thy  harp  and  attune  it  once  more  on  the  prow. 

"  Sailors  of  Corinth,  behold  him  again. 
He  comes  with  his  crown  and  his  ivy-twined  Ivre, 
He  tunes  the  sweet  strings  and  awakens  the  strain 

[Piano.    Any  selection  of  rhythmic  music.] 

To  whose  rapturous  touch  his  own  life  shall  expire. 
What  robe  has  he  on.  —  the  Sicilian  gown  ? 
No,  the  robe  of  Apollo,  the  mantle  of  white, 
On  which  the  throned  Muses  look  happily  down, 
And  protect  from  all  ill  with  the  asgis  of  light. 

"  He  stands  'gainst  the  moon  on  the  light  swaying  prow; 
Now  the  glimmering  harpstrings  his  jewelled  hands  sweep, 
And  now,  lo  !  he  vanishes.    Where  is  he  now  ? 
And  what  melody  vises  so  sweet  o'er  the  deep  ? 
See  the  dolphins  enchanted.  —  they  bear  him  away. 
He  rides  like  a  god  in  a  chariot  divine. 
In  the  robe  of  Apollo:  and  list,  hear  him  plav, 
As  he  played  to  the  kings  at  the  spillings  of  wine. 

"  List,  —  hear  it  ascend  on  the  heart-beating  air. 
Enchanting  the  dolphins,  the  sky.  and  the  seas  : 
Now  sweet  as  the  love-notes  of  Orpheus's  prayer, 
Now  light  as  the  dance  of  the  Peloponnese. 
Afar  now  the  island  of  Oxia  grows  dim. 
And  the  high  shield  of  Dian  now  melts  in  the  mist; 
Now  it  soothingly  flows  like  Ionia's  hymn  ; 
Now  fainter  and  fainter.  —  breathe  lightly  and  low, 
While  the  notes  ripple  low  and  the  still  waters  flow, 
And  the  domes  of  the  port  in  the  silver  stars  glow." 


22S  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

[Low  pedal,  and  continuation  of  music] 

Morn  mingled  the  blue  waves  of  Corinth  with  tire, 
'Neath  the  scales  of  the  temple  the  sailors  lay  dead ; 
But  Arion  awoke  to  Apollo  his  lyre, 
To  the  hall  of  the  roses,  by  princesses  led. 

Our  travellers  went  from  the  port  of  Alexandria  to  Port  Said,  and 
thence  to  Suez.  They  called  it  a  journey  to  Zag-a-Zig,  —  a  zigzag 
journey  to  Zag-a-Zig,  as  a  lively  town  by  the  latter  name  was  conspicu- 
ous during  the  construction  of  the  Suez  Canal. 

Port  Said  stands  at  the  northern  end  of  the  canal,  and  derives  its 
importance  from  its  connection  with  the  canal.  On  one  side  of  the 
port  city  is  Egypt,  on  the  other  Ismalia  and  Arabia  Petraea,  with  Gaza 
near,  and  Jerusalem  not  far  from  Gaza. 

Port  Said,  which  now  contains  some  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  had 
no  existence  until  i860.  An  army  of  workmen  then  began  to  arrive 
there  to  build  the  canal,  and  it  became  the  depot  of  the  canal  company. 
The  construction  of  the  long  piers  of  Port  Said  was  a  work  of  immense 
difficulty,  as  the  stone  had  to  be  brought  at  first  from  long  distances, 
and  later  artificial  stone  had  to  be  made.  One  of  the  great  piers  has 
a  length  of  seven  thousand  feet,  and  another  of  six  thousand  feet. 
Within  the  outer  harbor  is  an  inner  port,  and  the  light-house,  with  its 
starlight  electric  flame,  is  1S0  feet  in  height. 

That  was  a  notable  day  in  the  history  of  the  world,  when,  in  1869, 
November  16,  the  Khedive  of  Egypt,  the  Empress  of  the  French,  the 
Emperor  of  Austria,  and  the  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia,  formally  opened 
the  canal.  What  a  change  has  passed  over  the  lives  and  fortunes  of 
these  people  since  then  ! 

The  English  at  first  stood  aloof  from  the  plan  of  the  canal ;  even 
Robert  Stephenson  looked  unfavorably  upon  it.  M.  de  Lesseps  was 
regarded  in  England  as  a  visionary.  His  name  afterward  became  one 
of  the  most  illustrious  in  the  world,  to  become  almost  pitiable  with  the 
failure  of  the  Panama  Canal. 


THE  MEDITERRANEAN  AND  ITS  LEGENDS.  23  I 

The  town  of  Suez,  seventy-six  miles  from  Cairo,  with  which  it  is 
connected  by  railway,  is  famous  for  its  bazaars ;  yet  it  is  situated  amid 
a  burning  waste  of  sands. 

From  Port  Said  our  travellers  went  to  Beyrut,  passing  Gaza,  and 
touching  at  Joppa,  which  connects  with  Jerusalem  by  railroad. 

Gaza  recalled  the  story  of  Samson  ;  and  as  the  party  passed  by 
it  one  Sunday  afternoon,  an  old  New  England  clergyman  on  board 
related  a  story  which  we  will  give  in  a  story-telling  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


ST.    SOPHIA.  —  THE   DERVISH'S   FAIRY   TALE. 


RT  was  a  clear  summer  morning,  and  the  sky  was  an 
uplifting  of  splendor  when  our  travellers  entered 
the  Sea  of  Marmora,  and  Constantinople  rose  before 
them  with  the  sun.  Olympus  was  burning  in  the 
east,  in  expanding  splendors,  like  a  mountain  of 
gold.  Terrace  above  terrace,  dark  with  cypresses, 
were  glimmering  in  the  overflow  of  light.  The  city  stands  upon  two 
seas.     It  is  really  three  cities,  —  Stamboul,  Galata,  and  Scutari. 

Stamboul,  on  the  tongue  of  land  between  the  Sea  of  Marmora  and 
the  Golden  Horn,  is  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  of   Byzantium. 

The  city  was  beginning  to  be  alive.  The  silence  of  the  night, 
which  had  only  been  broken  by  the  howling  of  tens  of  thousands  of 
dogs  under  the  slanting  moon,  was  giving  place  to  the  cries  of  the 
marketmen.  The  marble  domes  of  St.  Sophia  were  glittering  among 
groves  of  eternal  verdure,  and  the  muezzins  from  the  rosy  minarets 
were  calling  the  hour  of  prayer. 

Our  travellers'  first  visit  was  to  the  mosque  of  St.  Sophia,  or  the 
Church  of  Divine  Wisdom,  —  the  architectural  glory  of  the  old  Byzan- 
tine empire,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful  structures  that  ever  arose 
under  the  sun.  This  temple  first  arose  in  the  reign  of  Constantine 
in  325,  the  year  of  the  Council  of  Nice.  It  was  destroyed  several 
times,  but  always  arose  from  its  ruins  more  beautiful  than  before. 

Justinian  made  the  rebuilding  of  the  church  the  glory  of  his  reign. 
The  beautiful  marbles  of  all  lands  were  gathered  for  its  reconstruction. 


ST.   SOPHIA. 


The  spoils  of  many  of  the  ancient  temples  of  the  world  entered  into  it. 
It  is  said  that  a  hundred  architects  superintended  its  construction, 
under  each  of  whom  were  placed  a  hundred  masons.     The  emperor 


TURKISH    WOMAN. 


himself  was  the  chief  architect,  and  he  claimed  to  have  followed  the 
directions  of  an  angel  who  appeared  to  him  in  dreams.  So  St.  Sophia, 
the  Church  of  Heavenly  Wisdom,  was  thought  to  have  been  planned 
in  heaven. 


234  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

It  was  intended  to  surpass  the  temple  of  Solomon.  The  accounts 
of  the  lavish  use  of  gold  and  gems,  of  marbles  and  historic  spoils,  read 
like  fairy  tales.  There  were  forty-two  thousand  sacred  vessels  of  pre- 
cious metals  and  gems,  twenty-four  sacred  books  of  the  evangelists, 
with  gold  covers.  The  doors  were  of  ivory,  amber,  and  cedar,  and 
three  ol  them  it  was  claimed  were  made  of  wood  from  Noah's  ark. 
It  was  also  claimed  that  the  church  had  the  trumpets  that  overthrew 
the  walls  of  Jericho. 

The  dedication  of  the  church  was  most  dramatic.  It  was  Christ- 
mas eve  of  the  year  548.  The  emperor,  elated  with  the  completion  of 
this  temple,  which  he  believed  to  have  rivalled  the  past  and  emptied 
the  future  of  glory,  drove  his  chariot  to  the  place,  and  there  caused 
one  thousand  oxen,  one  thousand  sheep,  six  hundred  deer,  and  ten 
thousand  birds  to  be  slaughtered,  and  thirty  thousand  measures  of 
corn  to  be  distributed  among  the  poor.  He  entered  the  church  like 
one  bereft  of  his  senses.  He  ran  from  the  doors  to  the  altar,  and  with 
outstretched  arms  exclaimed,  "  God  be  praised !  Solomon,  I  have  snip- 
pets sea7  thee!" 

After  the  Moslem  conquest  the  church  became  a  mosque,  and  new 
glories  were  added  to  the  treasures  of  the  past.  Among  the  holy  ves- 
sels is  a  cup  said  to  have  been  used  by  the  Virgin  Mary ;  also  the  very 
cradle  of  the  Saviour.  It  has  a  sweating  column,  where  miracles  are 
believed  to  be  performed,  a  cold  window,  where  the  Koran  was  first  read, 
and  where  since  the  wind  has  ever  blown,  and  a  shining  stone,  which 
imbibes  rays  of  light  so  beautifully  as  to  be  regarded  divine. 

Next  to  the  dogs  of  the  city,  a  boy  is  interested  most  in  the  der- 
vishes and  their  fairy  tales.  These  story-tellers  have  an  art  of  their 
own  ;  they  act  their  wonder-stories  and  hypnotize  the  listener,  so  that 
he  seems  to  see  it  all. 

Let  us  give  you  — 


INTERIOR    OF    A    MOSQUE. 


A   DERVISH'S  FAIRY   TALE.  237 


A    DERVISH'S    FAIRY   TALK. 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  were  two  sisters,  —  Ellif  and  Lila.  One  of  them, 
Ellif,  was  very  beautiful ;  the  other,  Leila,  or  Lila,  was  a  dwarf  and  hunchback. 
Now  Ellif  was  very  proud  of  her  beauty,  and  Lila,  the  hunchback,  was  abashed 
at  her  form,  and  hid  in  the  kitchen,  and  did  the  family  work  there. 

But  Lila  had  a  loving  heart,  and  the  fairy  folk  saw  her  and  loved  her.  The 
fairy  folk  were  under  an  enchantment,  which  only  a  happy  mistake  could  break. 

One  night  Lila  felt  a  light  on  her  eyelids,  and  opened  her  eyes.  What  a 
scene  !  All  the  fairy  folk  were  there.  Her  room  was  as  light  as  day,  and  the 
fairy  folk  were  dancing.     As  they  danced  they  sung,  — 

"  Wednesday,  Wednesday, 
Cheerily,  cheerily, 
Wednesday,  Wednesday, 
Merrily,  merrily.*' 

Lila  wished  to  dance  and  sing  with  the  fairy  folk.  She  tried  to  sing,  but 
she  made  a  happy  mistake.     She  sung,  — 

"  Thursday,  Thursday, 
Cheerily,  cheerily, 
Thursday,  Thursday, 
Merrily,  merrily." 

This  little  happy  mistake  broke  the  spell,  and  the  fairy  folk  were  made  free, 
and  were  delighted.     So  they  determined  to  reward  her.     They  rushed  toward 
her,  lifted  her  up.    "  Sing,"  said  they. 
She  sung, — 

"■Thursday,  Thursday, 

Cheerily,  cheerily. 

Thursday,  Thursday, 

Merrily,  merrily." 

But  they  sung,  — 

"  Wednesday  !  Wednesday ! 
Cheerily,  cheerily. 
Wednesday !  Wednesday ! 
Merrily,  merrily." 

"  When  you  touch  the  floor  again,"  said  the  fairy  folk,  "  you  will  be 
happy !  " 

She  was.  Her  hump  was  gone ;  her  form  was  light  and  beautiful ;  her  face 
was  one  of  the  loveliest  in  all  the  world ;   her  rags  had  changed  to  silk. 


238  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

She  went  home,  and  entered  the  kitchen.  There  her  proud  sister  came  to 
see  her  about  her  work,  and  she  was  filled  with  envy  and  amazement  as  she 
opened  the  door. 

As  they  bid  her  good-by  the  fairy  folk  gave  her  a  single  hair.  "  If  you 
should  ever  be  in  trouble,  burn  that  and  we  will  come,"  said  they.  Lila 
treasured  the  hair,  and  knew  that  by  it  she  could  have  anything  that  she 
wished. 

"  Where  did  you  get  your  beautiful  dress,  Lila,  my  sister?"  said  Ellif. 

"  The  fairy  folk  brought  it  to  me  ?  " 

"  Why,  my  sister?  " 

"  I  needed  it,  and  I  sung  so  that  it  broke  their  spell." 

"  What  did  you  sing?  " 

Lila  told  her  sister  the  story.  The  latter  was  greatly  interested  and  wonder- 
struck. 

"  I  need  a  dress,"  said  she,  "  and  now  that  I  know  the  secret,  I  will  go  to 
the  fairy  folk  to-night  and  sing  too.  To-day  is  Thursday;  I  will  sing  Friday, 
and  the  song  of  a  day  to  come  will  break  their  spell." 

Ellif  that  night  waited  the  coming  of  the  fairy  folk.     But  instead  of  singing 

"  Friday,"  she  sung, — 

"  Tuesday.  Tuesday, 
Cheerily,  cheerily. 
Tuesday,  Tuesday, 
Merrily,  merrily." 

Now  the  fairy  folk  were  thrown  into  horror  by  the  singing  of  a  dead  day. 
They  saw  that  she  was  selfishly  trying  to  secure  gain  by  having  learned  her 
sister's  secret.  They  rushed  towards  her,  and  lifted  her  up,  singing,  "Thursday, 
Thursday." 

"  When  you  touch  the  floor  again,  you  will  weep,"  said  they. 

She  did.  There  was  a  hump  on  her  back,  and  her  beauty  was  gone,  and 
she  was  in  rags.     She  went  home,  and  took  her  sister's  place  in  the  kitchen. 

But  Lila  pitied  her  sister  when  she  saw  her,  and  wept  with  her,  and  sought 
to  comfort  her. 

"  Weep  not,  my  sister,  it  will  yet  be  well." 

"  How? " 

"  Do  you  see  this  hair?  " 

"  Yes,  my  sister." 

"  The  fairy  folk  promised  to  help  me  as  often  as  I  should  burn  the  end  of 
this  hair.     I  am  going  to  burn  it  now." 

"Why?" 


A    DERVISH'S  FAIRY  TALE.  239 

"So  that  they  will  make  you  beautiful." 

"And  we  will  both  be  beautiful  in  heart." 

"  Yes,  my  sister." 

She  began  to  burn  the  hair,  and  the  fairy  folk  all  came.  They  made  the 
proud  sister  more  beautiful  than  ever  before,  and  she  now  had  a  good  heart 
also.  The  two  sisters  were  in  person  and  heart  the  most  beautiful  women 
in  all  the  land. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

BRINDISI.  — AN    ODD   STORY-TELLER. 

ROM  Constantinople  our  travellers  went  to  Brindisi, 
a  city  of  ancient  traditions,  where  Virgil  died. 
There  was  fever  in  Rome  at  this  time,  and  as  Brin- 
disi connects  by  rail  with  Naples  and  Rome,  they 
thought  it  well  to  rest  from  their  journey  here,  and 
to  return  to  Gibraltar  by  rail. 

The  harbor  of  Brindisi  is  one  of  the  best  on  the 
Adriatic,  and  consists  of  an  outer  and  an  inner  port.  The  country 
around  is  most  beautiful ;  and  as  Brindisi  was  anciently  Brindisium, 
associated  with  the  Roman  wars  with  Asia,  with  the  glories  of  the 
Augustan  age,  and  with  the  Crusades,  it  is  as  interesting  historically 
as  it  is  beautiful.  The  sea  is  a  charm,  and  the  land  a  garden,  and 
everywhere  the  ghosts  of  historic  events  arise. 

Our  travellers  stopped  at  the  Grand  Hotel  de  l'Orient,  and  here 
their  story-telling  was  renewed  amid  delightful  social  surroundings, 
Visiting  Naples  and  Rome  at  times,  they  enjoyed  a  long  rest  here. 

11  We  are  now  in  a  city  mentioned  by  Herodotus,"  said  an  old  New 
England  clergyman,  who  had  accompanied  them  from  Alexandria,  and 
who  was  a  classical  scholar.  "  Travellers  have  rested  here  for  three 
thousand  years  or  more.  Here  Maecenas  came  on  a  diplomatic  mis- 
sion, bringing  with  him  Horace.  And  here  was  the  end  of  the  queen 
of  all  Roman  roads,  the  Appian  Way." 

The  Appian  Way,  —  what  histories  did  the  name  touch  with  life 
again,  from  the  beginnings  of  the  celebrations  of  the  Roman  seculums 


MOSLEM    AT    PRAYER. 


AN  ODD   STORY-TELLER.  243 

to  that  barbaric  pageant  in  the  clays  of  Philip  the  Arabian,  which 
commemorated  the  one  thousandth  birthday  of  Rome! 

Down  this  way  which  armies  marched  to  embark  for  Greece  and 
for  the  conquests  of  Asia,  what  remnants  of  armies  came  back  over 
it,  up  from  the  sea !  Here  the  Roman  eagles,  coming  and  going, 
flashed  for  a  thousand  years. 

Conquerors  trod  the  Appian  Way;  captives  in  chains  were  sor- 
rowfully marched  over  it  towards  Rome;  poets  travelled  over  it.  It 
was  the  way  of  the  living  ;  it  was  the  way  of  the  dead,  for  it  was 
along  this  way  that  Rome  buried  her  dead.  Here  was  the  place  of 
tombs,  funeral  torches,  and  ashes,  and  human  dust.  One  approached 
the  Rome  of  the  living  through  the  Rome  of  the  dead. 

The  captive  thought,  "  What  does  it  matter?  "  as  he  saw  the  tombs, 
and  knew  that  the  white  palaces  of  the  dead  held  only  common  earth. 

This  end  of  the  Appian  Way  was  really  the  old  port  of  Rome. 
The  way  was  paved  with  stones  as  solid  as  the  pyramids.  It  was  a 
long  road  from  Rome  down  to  the  glorious  Adriatic  over  this  firm-set 
road.  One  now  passes  from  Brindisi  to  Rome  in  a  few  hours,  but  it 
was  not  so  in  the  times  of  Maecenas,  Virgil,  and  Horace.  The  length 
of  the  Appian  Way  was  a  journey  then. 

But  in  the  days  of  her  glory  Rome  began  at  this  port  by  the  cool 
sea.  Her  longest  street  reached  here,  and  the  Romans  loved  the  way 
to  the  Adriatic,  where  the  sea  seemed  to  come  up  to  meet  them. 

At  Brindisi  our  travellers  became  intimate  with  a  benevolent  old 
New  England  clergyman  to  whom  we  have  alluded.  His  name  was 
Ware,  and  he  had  been  a  pastor  of  a  church  at  Scituate,  Mass.  In  his 
early  davs  he  had  had  poetic  ambitions,  and  had  lived  for  a  time  in 
Boston.  He  was  full  of  benevolence  and  storv-telling,  and  he  became 
a  favorite  among  the  English  and  American  people  who  were  resting 
at  Brindisi. 

The  people  used  to  gather  on  the  balconies  or  within  the  balcony 
windows  in  the  lonsf  evenings  and   Sunday  afternoons  to  hear  "  Dr. 


244 


ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON  THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 


Ware,"  as  he  was  called,  or  "old  Dr.  Ware,"  tell  the  tales  of  his  simple 
life.  He  was  one  of  those  people  who  liked  to  "  make  fun  of  himself," 
or  to  freely  analyze  his  own  mistakes  in  life. 

One  Sunday  afternoon  he  read  from  the  Bible  the  story  of  Samson, 
which  had  been  made  newly  interesting  to  him  by  seeing  Gaza  as  he 


APPIAN    WAY. 


passed  along  the  coast.  The  old  town  of  Gaza,  which  is  near  to 
Joppa,  has  still  some  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants.  It  has  no  walls  or 
gates,  as  of  old.  Its  white  mosque,  with  its  octagonal  minaret,  rises 
high  over  the  sandy  coast  and  blue  sunny  sea.     Old  Dr.  Ware  illus- 


A    MODERN  SAMSON.  245 

trated  the  incident  of  the  growing  again  of  Samson's  hair  by  a  curious 
and  happy  story,  which  we  give  below. 

He  one  evening,  when  the  stories  of  Shakspeare  that  relate  to 
Venice  and  Verona  had  been  the  subject  of  conversation,  told  an 
odd  incident  of  his  own  early  life,  in  which  he  pictured  Rome  as  it 
used  to  appear  to  him  among  the  old  New  England  farms.  The  story 
prepared  the  minds  of  our  travellers  for  the  journeys  that  they  were 
planning  to  make  to  Rome,  and  recalled  the  associations  of  their  own 
new  land,  far,  far  away. 

A    MODERN    SAMSON,   WHOSE    HAIR    GREW    AGAIN. 

Sunday  was  a  still  day  in  old  New  England  a  century  ago.  People  did  not 
ride  much  nor  walk  far.     It  was  a  still  day,  even  in  haying  time. 

There  were  few  farmers  then  who  regarded  labor  in  the  hay-field  on  the 
Sabbath  as  a  work  of  necessity.  This  idea  was  of  later  growth,  when  farm  life 
on  that  day  began  to  show  greater  activity. 

How  still  it  was  in  those  old  sacred  days  in  the  fiery  midsummer  weather! 
The  church  bell  rang  at  ten  o'clock,  and  its  notes  echoed  among  the  hills  and 
along  the  valleys.  The  swarths  of  cut  grass  lay  as  the  scythes  of  the  mowers 
had  left  them  on  Saturday.  No  dinner  horn  blew;  the  bells  of  no  bread-cart 
man  came  jingling  lazily  along  from  house  to  house;  no  ox-cart  rumbled  over 
the  roads. 

After  church  the  hired  men  rested  in  the  half-filled  haylofts  in  the  barn  or 
under  the  shadows  of  the  trees,  and,  perhaps,  discussed  the  morning  sermon, 
or  told  the  old  wonder-tales  of  the  farms  and  inns.  If  clouds  gathered  in  the 
afternoon,  the  deacon  would  stand  in  his  door,  and  shade  his  eyes,  and  say,  — 

"  I  guess  there  's  goin'  to  be  a  shower,  and  the  hay  will  get  a  wettin',"  and 
would  retire  to  his  lounge  with  peace  of  conscience,  leaving  the  ricks  and  wind- 
rows of  hay  to  the  mercy  of  the  sky. 

It  was  such  a  Sabbath  afternoon  that  the  Widow  Stilhvell  sat  in  the  door  of 
her  cottage,  and  looked  out  on  the  fragrant  fields  and  green  woods.  Her  son, 
Gideon,  or  "  Gid,"  as  she  called  him,  had  just  returned  from  church. 

"There's  cold  victuals  on  the  table,  Gid,"  she  said.  "The  coffee  is  cold, 
'cos  I  aint  goin'  to  kindle  any  fire  to-day.  There  's  milk  and  mush  and  corn' 
beef,  and  swamp  tarts,  and  wild  strawberries  and  cream,  and  that's  enough. 
What  did  the  preacher  preach  about?" 


246  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  Samson !  " 

"  Sho  —  did  he?  That  was  a  powerful  subject.  Where  was  the  text?  You 
tell  me,  and  I  '11  find  it,  and  after  dinner  I  '11  talk  with  you  about  it,  and  you 
must  n't  go  to  sleep  while  your  old  mother  is  talkin'.  You  '11  think  of  me  some 
day,  when  I  am  dead.     Where  was  it,  Gid?  " 

"  I  don't  know  where,  Mother,  but  I  recollect  the  words:  'And  the  Philis- 
tines took  him  and  put  out  his  eyes,  and  brought  him  down  to  Gaza,  and  he 
did  grind  in  the  prison-house.'  " 

"  Good  for  ye,  Gid  !  What  a  memory  you  have  got !  That  does  yer  old 
mother's  heart  good.  '  Did  grind  in  the  prison-house.'  I  '11  get  the  concor- 
dance and  look  it  up.     You  go  and  get  your  dinner." 

Gideon  sat  down  at  a  scoured  oak-table  in  the  long  porch,  to  a  cold  Sunday 
dinner.  The  door  was  open,  and  a  hen  with  a  brood  of  chickens  came  in,  and 
he  fed  them. 

"  What  you  doin',  Gid?  " 

"  Oh,  nothin',  Mother." 

Mrs.  Stillwell  appeared  and  saw  the  hen  and  chickens,  and  raised  her  apron 
and  said,  "Shoo;"  then  added,  "'  And  he  did  grind  in  the  prison-house;' 
that 's  a  might}'   improvin'  text. 

"  No  matter  how  good  folk  a  man  may  have,  if  he  don't  do  as  he  ought  to 
do,  he  will  one  da}'  find  himself  at  the  mill  grindin',  with  his  eyes  put  out.  Eh? 
I  've  seen  a  lot  of  folks  grindin'  in  my  da}'.  Yes,  Gid,  grindin',  grindin',  grindin,' 
grindin'. 

"  Sin  puts  out  the  eyes  of  its  servants,  and  sends  them  all  grindin',  grindin', 
grindin'  at  the  mill,  and  a  sorry  spectacle  they  are  at  last. 

"  There's  'Squire  Brown's  son  ;  he's  just  drinked  up  his  father's  farm,  and 
the  Philistines  have  got  him  ;  he's  grindin',  grindin',  grindin'.  There's  Ned 
Gray,  he  that  ran  away  with  the  Gratlin  gal  ;  he  was  heady  ;  he  's  grindin'. 
The  Philistines  have  got  him. 

"  Gideon,  that 's  a  mighty  improvin' text.  Be  careful  that  the  Philistines 
don't  ever  get  yon" 

"  But,  Mother—" 

"  What,  Gid?" 

"The  parson,  he  said  '  howbeit?  " 

"  Howbeit  what,  Gid?  " 

"  '  Howbeit  the  hair  of  his  head  began  to  grow  after  he  was  shaven.'  " 

"  Yes.  but  he  was  n't  what  he  used  to  be.  Don't  you  ever  be  a  hoivbeit 
man,  Gideon.  Have  ye  eaten  all  ye  want?  Well,  let  us  go  and  set  down  in 
the  keepin'  room,  and  talk.     I  '11  wash  the  dinner  dishes  to-morrow." 


A   MODERN  SAMSON.  247 

The  widow  found  the  text  of  the  sermon  in  the  Book  of  Judges,  and  began 
to  give  her  views  upon  it.  In  the  midst  of  a  very  earnest  exhortation  she 
dropped  her  spectacles  and  lifted  her  hands. 

"  Asleep,  Gid?     Well,  the  poor  boy  has  worked  hard  during  the  week." 

She  crazed  out  of  the  window  under  the  morning-glories.  An  old  guide- 
post  stood  at  the  corner  of  the  ways. 

"  Poor  boy,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  I  wonder  what  course  he  will  take.  There 
are  clouds  in  the  sky,  and  the  robins  are  singin',  and  I  '11  go  out  and  see  that 
the  cows  come  up  to  the  apple  pasture,  so  that  Gideon  will  not  have  to  hunt 
for  them  if  it  comes  on  to  rain." 

She  went  out.  The  clouds  passed,  and  the  Sabbath  echoed  to  the  golden 
coronation  of  a  long  twilight. 

Gideon  Stillwell  was  a  bright  boy.  The  widow  said  that  he  "  favored  his 
father,"  who  came  to  be  at  last  a  justice  of  the  peace.  In  the  Friday  evening 
conference  meetings,  and  at  the  winter  evening  debating  societies  at  the  school- 
house,  Gideon's  voice  always  awakened  expectation,  and  at  the  "  speaking 
schools,"  that  held  weekly  evening  sessions  at  the  schoolhouse,  he  was  always 
received  with  great  cheering  when  he  stepped  upon  the  platform,  and  honored 
with  greater  cheering  when  he  stepped  down.  At  an  earl}-  age,  after  attaining 
his  majority,  he  was  elected  field-driver  and  pound-keeper  at  the  town  meet- 
ing, and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  arrived  at  the  high  honor  of  his  father,  in 
being  made  a  justice  of  the  peace.  These  were  days  that  made  the  widow's 
heart  glad. 

But  there  was  a  barter  store  in  the  neighborhood,  where  all  kinds  of  com- 
modities were  sold,  and  to  this  Gideon  began  to  go  to  spend  his  evenings,  to 
play  checkers  and  joke  and  talk.  Here  he  learned  to  drink  liquors  and  treat 
and  became  intimate  with  some  young  men  who,  like  the  favorite  hero  of  the 
drinking  song  of  the  time,  "  Rosin  the  Beau,"  believed  in  having  a  merry  time 
in  the  world.      To  use  the  refrain  of  one  of  their  songs  as  a  picture :  — 

"  To-night  we  '11  merry,  merry  be, 
And  to-morrow  we  '11  get  sober." 

On  holidays  these  jovial  fellows  became  a  terror  and  a  nuisance  to  the  com- 
munity, and  they  made  it  a  habit  to  celebrate  the  evening  before  the  Fourth  of 
July  by  a  frolic,  or,  as  they  termed  it  in  country  language,  by  "  going  off  on 
a  spree." 

This  change  of  habits  led  to  a  great  change  in  Gideon.  The  community 
were  very  charitable  towards  his  weaknesses  and  lapses,  because  he  was  a 
widow's  son,  and  his  father  had  been  a  good  man,  and  his  own  life  had  opened 
in  such  a  promising  way. 


248  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  I  'm  sorry,"  said  the  old  parson,  "  but  let  us  be  kindly.  He  will  return  to 
his  Father's  house  again ;  "  and,  with  this  charitable,  spiritual  figure,  he  rested 
the  case  with  hope. 

Independence  Day,  after  the  victory  of  Commodore  Perry  on  Lake  Erie 
was  for  several  years  celebrated  with  great  enthusiasm  in  all  American  cities 
and  towns.  The  bands  played  "  The  President's  March  ;  "  floral  chariots,  with 
young  girls  representing  goddesses,  led  triumphal  processions ;  arches  spanned 
the  streets,  and  the  country  people  gathered  about  the  gingerbread-carts  in  the 
towns.  The  nights  blazed  with  bonfires  ;  tar  barrels  made  lurid  the  sky,  and 
bells  and  cannon  awoke  the  morn  and  saluted  the  sunset.  It  was  a  day  of  fire 
and  noise  — the  one  great  day  that  voiced  the  exultant  political  spirit  of  the 
time.  America  stood  for  liberty  in  the  view  of  those  good  times;  and  liberty 
was  destined  to  topple  all  thrones  and  crumble  all  crowns,  and  lead  the  world 
to  ultimate  equality  of  rights,  to  a  unity  of  brotherhood  and  never-ending 
peace. 

The  young  orator  was  usually  the  hero  of  these  unexampled  celebrations. 
He  was  sometimes  a  minister,  sometimes  a  lawyer  or  college  student.  He 
usually  began  his  oration  with  "  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  We  have  assembled 
here  to  commemorate  the  days  on  which  our  fathers  fought,  bled,  and  died." 
Then  the  eagle  began  to  fly. 

Next  in  honor  to  the  orator  was  the  reader  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, who  gave  that  document  of  Jefferson  to  the  public  in  an  oratorical  tone, 
which  was  a  kind  of  heroic  chant.  The  grand  language,  "  When,  in  the  course 
of  human  events,"  was  thrown  on  the  air  like  the  voice  of  a  trumpet;  the 
arraignment  of  George  III.  rose  and  fell  in  stately  tones,  and  the  effectiveness 
and  eloquence  of  the  reading  was  a  subject  of  comment  for  weeks  after  the 
event. 

It  was  in  one  of  these  grand,  patriotic  years  that  Bristol,  the  town  in  which 
the  Widow  Stillwell  and  her  son  lived,  had  voted  at  the  town  meeting  to  hold 
a  celebration  on  the  coming  Fourth  of  Jul)-,  and  had  chosen  the  then  justices 
of  the  peace  and  the  old  Orthodox  clergyman  to  act  as  a  committee. 

The  committee  appointed  the  young  Episcopal  clergyman  of  the  place  as 
orator,  and,  at  the  advice  of  the  parson,  Gideon  Stillwell  to  read  the  Declaration 
of  Independence. 

A  part  of  the  committee  made  objection  to  this  last  nomination. 

"  Gideon  has  a  grand  voice,"  said  the  parson. 

"  But  his  conduct  on  past  Independence  Days  has  not  been  an  honor  to  the 
town,"  said  one.     "  He  carouses." 

"This  will   save   him.     This   will  save   him,"  said  the   old   parson.     "This 


A   MOD  ERA'  SAMSON.  25  1 

honor  will  go  right  to  his  heart,  and  make  a  man  of  him.  And,"  he  added 
kindly,  "  it  will  cheer  the  heart  of  his  mother.  The  widow  is  a  good  woman  — 
a  good  family  ;  they  helped  burn  the  '  Gaspee.'  " 

This  last  touch  appealed  to  local  patriotism,  and  the  committee  unanimously 
voted  that  Gideon  Stillwell  should  read  the  Declaration. 

Gideon  received  this  intelligence  of  this  crown  of  honor  with  a  divided 
heart.  He  had  spent  his  evenings  much  at  the  store  of  late,  and  he  and  his 
comrades  had  agreed  to  have  a  frolic  on  the  night  of  the  Fourth,  and  had  formed 
a  strange  plan  to  startle  the  town. 

On  the  old  farms  around  the  town  there  were,  in  midsummer,  old  stacks  of 
hay  that  had  been  left  over  from  the  foddering  seasons.  With  the  exception 
of  the  tar-barrel,  there  is  nothing  that  will  fill  the  sky  at  night  with  such  a  lurid 
light  as  the  burning  of  an  old  haystack.  It  was  the  secret  plan  of  the  jolly 
fellows  who  met  at  the  country  store  to  set  fire  to  all  of  the  old  hay-stacks  on 
the  farms  around  the  town  on  the  evening  of  the  Fourth,  and  then  to  assemble 
in  the  old  place  and  enjoy  the  excitement  of  the  joke,  and  have  a  drunken 
carousal. 

If  Gideon  Stillwell  accepted  the  high  honor  offered  him  for  the  Fourth,  he 
must  at  once  break  away  from  his  old  comrades  and  all  association  with  this 
unlawful  escapade. 

The  sensation  of  the  proposed  frolic  had  been  a  delightful  prospect  to 
Gideon's  mind.  But  the  town  had  appealed  to  his  better  nature,  pride,  and 
honor.  He  thought  of  his  mother,  his  Revolutionary  ancestry,  and  his  future; 
and  he  accepted  the  invitation,  and  began  to  rehearse  the  eloquent  reading  out 
in  the  barn  and  in  the  woods. 

Poor  Widow  Stillwell  used  to  listen  to  these  rehearsals  at  the  door.  She 
delighted  to  hear  "  created  free  and  equal,"  and  "  inalienable  rights,"  and  "  life 
and  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  "  soaring  like  eagles  over  mountain 
tops  into  the  air.  She  shut  the  door  softly  when  "  these  States  are  and  of  a 
right  ought  to  be  free  and  independent,"  and  sometimes  sat  down  and  covered 
her  face  with  her  apron,  saying,  "  Oh,  that  I  should  ever  be  blessed  by  being 
the  mother  of  a  boy  like  that !  " 

The  town  of  Bristol  contained  the  county  jail.  In  the  yard  there  had  been 
placed  a  curious  machine  for  the  discipline  of  stubborn  prisoners,  called  a 
treadmill.  Prisoners  were  not  numerous  in  the  county,  and  there  really  seemed 
to  be  no  especial  need  of  this  English  instrument  of  torture ;  but  other  officers 
of  prisons  were  building  them  to  meet  the  wants  of  difficult  cases,  and  the 
officers  here  were  public-spirited  men,  and  did  not  like  to  be  wanting  in  any 
of  the  improved  methods  of  discipline  and  compulsory  reform. 


252  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   OX   THE  MEDITERRA.XEAN. 

These  treadmills  were  constructed  on  the  principle  of  the  old-fashioned 
horsethreshing-machines.  The  culprit  who  was  placed  in  one  was  compelled 
to  tread  until  he  was  released. 

This  clock-work  motion  soon  became  very  tiresome,  painful,  and  exhausting. 
The  officers  of  prisons  called  the  discipline  "  the  breaking  of  the  will."  Most 
prisoners  so  disciplined  promised  obedience  after  a  very  short  experience.  Of 
all  discouraging  inventions  to  subdue  crankiness  and  perverseness,  the  treadmill 
was  one  of  the  most  effective. 

Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  in  his  early  years,  once  wrote  a  treadmill  song, 
which  used  to  be  found  in  old  readers  and  speakers :  — 

"  The  stars  are  rolling  in  the  skies, 

The  earth  rolls  on  below, 
And  we  can  feel  the  rattling  wheels 

Revolving  as  we  go. 
Then  tread  away,  my  gallant  boys, 

And  make  the  axle  fly  ; 
Why  should  not  wheels  go  round  about 

Like  planets  in  the  sky  ?  " 

The  treadmill  as  a  prison  punishment  has  long  disappeared  from  penal 
institutions  in  England  and  America. 

The  evening  of  the  Fourth  of  Jul}'  came  after  a  blazing  day  on  the  blue  bays 
and  green  hay-fields.  The  jolly  jokers  met  early  at  the  store.  In  an  ill-starred 
moment  of  weakness  Gideon  had  consented  to  meet  with  them,  although  he 
had  declined  to  go  with  them.  The  party  were  in  high  spirits,  and  were  enjoying 
their  fun  in  anticipation. 

"  Gideon,"  said  one,  "  go." 

"  But  the  reading  at  the  church?  " 

"  No  one  outside  of  the  party  will  ever  know  how  you  spent  the  night,  and 
you  may  be  sure  that  none  of  us  will  tell." 

"  But  if  we  were  to  be  detected?  It  would  ruin  my  name,  and  be  a  disgrace 
to  the  town." 

"  We  are  not  going  to  be  detected." 

"  I  might  get  over-excited  and  heated,  and  drink  too  much,  and  that  would 
unfit  me  for  to-morrow." 

"We  will  see  to  that.     We  will  not  let  you  get  drunk." 

"I'm  heady  when  I  have  been  drinking;  my  judgment  is  warped;  I  do 
things  that  I  am  sorry  for.  A  little  liquor  brings  out  all  that  is  bad  in  me. 
When  I  am  half  drunk  I  am  fit  only  for  crime.  You  know  how  it  is.  You 
ought  not  to  tempt  me  to-night,  of  ail  nights.  Everything  in  my  life  depends 
upon  my  keeping  straight  to-night." 


THE    BAPTISTERY,    DUOMO,    AND    CAMPANILE    OF    GIOTTO,    FLORENCE. 


A    MODERN  SAM  SOX.  255 

"  But,  Gideon,  drink  a  little  with  jovial  comrades." 

"  Take  a  little  just  to  wet  your  whistle,"  said  one. 

He  did  ;  and  then  he  took  a  little  more  to  keep  it  company.  Presently  he 
began  to  grow  jovial,  and  slap  his  companions  on  their  backs  and  knees. 

He  looked  out  of  the  door  on  the  green  woods  that  the  hills  lifted  into 
the  air.  The  moon  was  rising,  shield-like  and  dusky,  like  the  sun  coming  up 
again. 

"  It 's  a  staver  of  a   night,"  said   he ;    "  just  the  one  for  a  lark.     Boys,  I  '11 

g°-" 

The  moon  rose  over  the  dewy  hills  and  glimmering  bays.  At  about  eleven 
o'clock  four  great  fires,  like  columns  of  flame,  rose  into  the  air  from  as  many 
farms.  The  sky  became  smoke,  then  turned  into  a  wannish  glare,  and  the 
whole  heavens  seemed  to  become  a  sheet  of  flame. 

The  church  bells  in  the  town  began  to  ring.  People  rushed  out  of  their 
houses,  both  in  the  town  and  country.  At  midnight  the  whole  population  was 
in  the  streets  or  roads. 

"  It  is  only  haystacks,"  said  a  fireman  on  horseback,  as  he  rushed  back  to 
the  town  from   the  farms. 

But  a  more  serious  event  happened.  One  of  the  burning  stacks  com- 
municated its  flames  to  a  large  barn,  and  the  burning  barn  set  fire  to  an  old 
historic  farm-house.  As  soon  as  the  larkers  discovered  this  serious  result  and 
began  to  comprehend  that  their  joke  was  a  crime,  they  stole  back  to  the  store. 

The  early  morning  found  them  here  intoxicated,  and  the  selectmen  and 
town  constable  also  found  them  here.  The  officers  rushed  in  to  arrest  them 
when  their  eyes  fell  upon  Gideon. 

They  paused.     Their  hearts  were  full  of  chagrin,  mortification,  and  sorrow. 

"We  must  do  our  duty,"  said  the  constable. 

The  men  were  arrested  and  led  amid  wondering,  humiliated  throngs  to  the 
count)'  jail. 

Once  in  the  jail  yard  they  began  to  throw  off  the  cloud  of  drunken  stupor, 
and  see  their  position. 

They  refused  to  enter  the  jail ;  rough  words  followed,  and  then  resist- 
ance was  made  to  officers,  and  a  fist  fight  put  the  custodians  of  the  peace  at 
bay. 

The  constable  sent  for  help.     Strong  men  came  ;  still  the  prisoners  resisted. 

"  Force  them  down,  and  put  them  into  the  treadmill,"  said  the  sheriff. 

There  followed  a  rough  handling  of  the  stack  burners,  but  the  officers  were 
soon  masters  of  the  place,  and  the  jolly  party  of  the  night  before  found  them- 
selves on  the  revolving  cylinder,  at  the  mercy  of  the  common  jailer.     At  the 


256  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX    THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

head  of  this  sorry  row,  who  had  started  a  motion  that  they  could  not  stop,  was 
the  appointed  reader  of  the  Declaration  on  this  day  of  national  honor,  Gideon 
Stillwell. 

The  jail  yard  was  surrounded  by  a  fence,  and  over  this  the  heads  of  boys 
began  to  rise. 

"  They're  in  the  treadmill.  Here's  a  sight;  run,  hurry, —  oh,  oh,  the)-  are 
in  the  treadmill  ! 

So  shouted  a  pioneer  in  the  discovery  of  this  strange,  odd  scene.  Boys  ran, 
men  ran,  and  even  girls  and  young  women  ran,  all  who  could  mounted  to  the 
top  of  the  fence,  some  shouting,  some  jeering,  some  laughing,  and  some 
crying. 

The  treadmill  here  was  a  kind  of  shed,  with  stalls  for  five  or  six  prisoners, 
ami  ,1  rail  on  which  the  culprits  leaned. 

If  ever  a  man's  face  wore  an  expression  of  agon}-,  horror,  and  despair,  it  was 
that  of  Gideon  Stillwell  on  the  glowing  forenoon  of  Independence  Day.  He 
heard  the  boys  jeering  on  the  fence,  and  he  knew  that  his  disgrace  would  be 
the  talk  of  the  town  for  a  generation.  He  could  not  do  anything  to  mitigate 
the  humiliation  of  his  position. 

The  high  windows  and  the  roofs  of  the  houses  around  the  jail  yard  filled  with 
people.  Gideon  heard  voices  in  the  air,  crackers  and  horns,  and  he  knew  what 
it  meant.  But  he  was  in  the  wheel,  and  the  wheel  went  round  and  round,  and 
every  revolution  made  his  bones  ache  and  cry  out  for  rest. 

One  of  his  fellows  began  to  rail  and  scold.  This  caused  a  great  outcry  to 
go  up  from  the  fence. 

The  church  bell  pealed  out  on  the  air.  Gideon  heard  it.  It  was  the  bell 
that  he  had  expected  would  call  him  to  his  place  of  honor.  A  boy  shouted 
from   the  fence,  — 

"  Now,  Gideon,  give  us  the  Declaration." 

At  this  the  boys  all  along  the  fence  waved  their  hats  and  cried,  "  Three 
cheers  for  Independence  !  " 

Another  cried,  "Three  cheers  for  Washington,  Commodore  Perry,  and 
Gideon  ; "  which  was  followed  by  "  Three  cheers  for  Gideon's  Band  !  " 

This  last  volley  was  repeated  amid  shouts  of  laughter.  All  was  excitement, 
merriment,  and  sorrow. 

Suddenly  there  fell  a  silence.  The  faces  were  turned  backward  to  the  long 
street,  and  one  boy  said,  "She's  coming,"  and  all  ceased  to  jeer.  The  win- 
dows became  silent  and  the  housetops.  One  could  hear  the  robins  sing.  But 
the  wheel  went  round. 

An  old  woman  on  a  crutch  was   coming  down   the  street  towards  the  jail. 


A    MOD  ERA7  SAMSON.  2$J 

All  eyes  were  fixed  upon  her,  and  many  eyes  began  to  fill  with  tears.  She 
hobbled  slowly  along  under  the  elms,  her  gray  hair  flying  on  the  light  wind  out 
of  a  funnel-shaped  bonnet. 

She  came  up  to  the  fence,  and  said, — 
"  Boy,  get  down,  and  let  me  see." 

The  boy  addressed  dropped  upon  the  ground.  The  old  woman  raised  her- 
self on  her  crutch,  and  slowly  lifted  her  gray  head  above  the  fence.  There  was 
silence  as  deep  as  the  air. 

Her  eyes  were  dim,  but  she  saw  it  all.  Her  gaze  was  fixed  on  Gideon,  who 
was  near  her.     And  the  wheel  went  round. 

"  Grindin',  Gideon?  " 

The  wheel  went  round. 

"  '  And  the  Philistines  took  him  and  put  out  his  eyes,  and  he  did  grind  in 
the  prison-house.'     Oh,  Gideon,  do  you  remember?  " 

The  wheel  went  round. 

"  Gideon,  I  am  in  '  the  chamber  over  the  gate,'  and  I  wish  that  I  were 
dead." 

The  wheel  went  round. 

"  Grindin',  grindin',  grindin'." 

The  wheel  went  round. 

"Mother?" 

"What,  Gideon?  " 

"  Howbeit,  his  hair  began  to  grow  after  he  was  shaven." 

"  '  Howbeit  ?  '  Gideon,  I  will  forgive  ye.  Yer  old  mother's  heart  is  all  that 
is  left  you  now  in  the  world.  When  you  get  through  grindin'  at  the  mill  in 
the  prison-house,  come  home,  Gideon.  I  '11  mortgage  my  place,  and  pay  yer 
fine.  And  now  I  '11  hobble  back  and  pray.  I  am  all  that  is  left  to  ye,  and  God 
is  all  that  is  left  to  me." 

A  bell  rang.     The  wheel  stopped. 

And  Gideon  —  his  hair  grew  again.  He  lived  down  his  disgrace  and 
became  a  worthy  citizen,  and  was  forgiven  by  the  kind  community. 

He  and  his  old  mother  sleep  among  the  slated  memorials  of  the  old  church- 
yard near  the  green,  under  the  elms,  where  the  orioles  sing  in  the  summer- 
time. 

•7 


THE    CAMPAGNA. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

RIENZI,  THE  LAST  OF  THE   ROMAN   TRIBUNES.1 

Then  turn  we  to  her  latest  tribune's  name, 
From  her  ten  thousand  tyrants  turn  to  thee, 
Redeemer  of  dark  centuries  of  shame, 
The  friend  of  Petrarch,  hope  of  Italy,  — 
Rienzi,  last  of  Romans  !  While  the  tree 
Of  freedom's  wither'd  trunk  puts  forth  a  leaf, 
Even  for  thy  tomb  a  garland  let  it  be  — 
The  forum's  champion  and  the  people's  chief, 
Her  newborn  Numa  thou  ! 

Byron. 

[LONG  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  not  far  from  that  part 
of  its  course  which  sweeps  by  the  base  of  Mount 
Aventine,  a  remote  and  tranquil  path  wound  its  leafy 
way.  At  a  distance  could  be  seen  the  scattered  and 
squalid  houses  that  bordered  the  river,  from  amid 
which  rose  the  dark  high  roofs  and  enormous  towers 
of  the  fortified  mansions  of  some  Roman  barons.  On  the  one  side 
the  river,  behind  the  cottages  of  the  fishermen,  rose  Mount  Janiculum, 
dark  with  massive  foliage,  from  which  gleamed  the  gray  walls  of 
many  a  palace  and  the  spires  and  columns  of  a  hundred  churches  ;  on 
the  other  side,  the  deserted  Aventine  rose  abrupt  and  steep,  covered 
with  thick  brushwood;  while  on  the  height  rolled  the  sound  of  the 
holy  convent  bell. 

1    I  am  indebted  for  this  chapter  to  Miss  Florence  A.  Blanchard. 


RIENZI,    THE  LAST  OF   THE  ROMAN   TRIBUNES.  259 

On  a  summer  evening  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
two  youths  might  have  been  seen  walking  through  this  secluded  path. 
The  elder  of  the  young  men,  who  might  have  passed  his  twentieth 
year,  was  of  a  tall  and  even  commanding  stature.  His  countenance, 
handsome  though  rather  thoughtful  in  expression,  was  lighted  by  a 
wonderful  smile.  The  younger,  who  was  yet  a  boy,  with  an  expres- 
sion of  great  sweetness  and  gentleness,  listened  with  tender  deference 
to  his  companion,  who  talked  of  the  uncertain  future  and  built  up  his 
castles  of  the  air,  and  we  hear  him  say,  "  But  you,  sweet  brother, 
though  you  share  not  my  studies,  sympathize  with  all  their  results  so 
kindly  —  you  seem  so  to  approve  my  wild  schemes  and  to  encourage 
my  ambitious  hopes — that  sometimes  I  forget  our  birth,  our  fortunes, 
and  think  and  dare  as  if  no  blood  save  that  of  the  noblest  flowed 
through  our  veins." 

As  they  talked  a  vessel  was  speeding  rapidly  down  the  river,  and 
some  three  or  four  armed  men  on  deck  were  intently  surveying  the  quiet 
banks  on  either  side,  as  if  anticipating  a  foe.  The  bark  soon  glided 
out  of  sight,  and  the  brothers  continued  their  dreams  of  the  future. 

As  the  evening  darkened  they  began  hastily  to  retrace  their  steps, 
when  the  elder  remembered  that  he  was  to  call  that  evening  at  the 
convent  for  a  rare  manuscript  that  had  been  promised  him.  Bidding 
his  brother  "  tarry  here  a  few  minutes,"  he  hastened  up  the  Aventine 
to  the  convent. 

Left  to  himself,  the  lad  thought  over  all  the  stories  of  ancient 
Rome  which  his  brother  had  told  him  in  their  walk,  as  he  gathered 
flowers  for  his  sister  and  wove  them  into  garlands. 

While  thus  engaged  the  tramp  of  horses  and  the  loud  shouting  of 
men  were  heard  at  a  distance.  They  came  nearer  and  nearer, — a 
gallant  company,  their  steeds  superbly  caparisoned.  They  were  all 
armed,  both  cavalry  and  foot-soldiers. 

A  momentary  fear  crossed  the  boy's  mind,  but  it  was  already  too 
late  to  flee,  —  the  train  was  upon  him. 


260  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN 

Questioning  the  boy  concerning  the  vessel  which  had  gone  down 
the  river  in  the  early  evening,  they  placed  him  in  the  thickest  of  the 
crowd,  and  dragged  him  along  with  the  rest,  lest  he  should  prove 
traitor,  and  alarm  the   Colon na. 

A  winding  in  the  road  brought  suddenly  before  them  the  object 
of  their  pursuit ;  but  pushing  forward  in  their  eagerness  to  intercept 
her,  they  came  upon  a  small  compact  body  of  horsemen,  armed  cap-a- 
pie,  who  dashed  from  amid  the  trees  and  charged  into  the  ranks  of 
the  pursuers. 

The  contest  was  short  and  fierce,  bringing  success  to  the  Colon  na. 
The  Orsini  turned  to  fly.  Among  those  who  fled  onward,  in  the 
very  path  of  the  horsemen,  was  the  young  lad.  Fast  he  fled,  and 
fast  behind  him  came  the  tramp  of  the  hoofs  —  the  shouts.  He  was 
now  at  the  spot  where  his  brother  had  left  him  ;  despairingly  he  looked 
up,  and,  behold  !   his  brother  rushing  through  the  tangled  brakes. 

"  Save  me,  save  me,  Brother !  "  he  shrieked  ;  a  moment  more  he 
fell  to  the  ground  —  a  corpse. 

The  horsemen  passed  on  to  new  victims.  Cola  had  descended,  and 
was  kneeling  by  his  murdered  brother. 

Presently  the  advanced  guard  of  the  Colonna  came  by,  whose  chief 
in  response  to  Rienzi's  impassioned  plea  for  "justice!  justice!"  prom- 
ised him  that  the  death  of  his  brother  should  be  avenged.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  cavalier  who  had  murdered  the  boy  proved  to  be  one  of 
the  Colonna,  and  the- promise  made  by  Lord  Colonna  was  broken. 

The  company  passed  back  the  way  they  had  come,  leaving  Rienzi 
motionless  beside  his  dead  brother.  His  thoughts  were  dark  and 
stern,  —  "thoughts  in  which  were  the  germ  of  a  mighty  revolution." 

"From  that  bloody  clay  Cola  di  Rienzi  rose  a  new  being.  With 
his  younger  brother  died  his  own  youth.  But  for  that  event  the  future 
liberator  of  Rome  might  have  been  but  a  dreamer,  a  scholar,  a  poet, — 
the  peaceful  rival  of  Petrarch,  a  man  of  thoughts,  not  deeds.  But 
from  that  time  all  his  faculties,  energies,  fancies,  genius,  became  con- 


RIENZI,    THE   LAST  OF   THE   ROMAN   TRIBUNES.  263 

centrated  to  a  single  point;  and  patriotism,  before  a  vision,  leaped 
into  the  life  and  vigor  of  a  passion,  lastingly  kindled,  stubbornly  hard- 
ened, and  awfully  consecrated  —  by  revenge." 

Years  passed  away.  The  fame  and  fortunes  of  Rienzi  were  grow- 
ing amid  all  the  civil  strife  and  contention  with  which  Rome  was 
torn.  Her  ancient  glory  had  departed.  Barbarian  tribes  had  forced 
their  settlements  into  the  city  of  the  Caesars.  The  degenerate  Roman 
population  possessed  all  the  insolent  and  unruly  turbulence  which 
characterized  the  plebs  of  the  ancient  forum,  without  any  of  their 
virtues.  They  were  ferocious  but  not  brave.  The  nobles  supported 
themselves  as  relentless  banditti. 

For  nearly  forty  years  Rome  had  been  deserted  by  the  popes ;  she 
had  ceased  to  be  the  religious  capital  of  the  world.  The  shrines  and 
the  reliques  of  the  great  apostles  and  the  famous  old  churches,  the 
Lateran,  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Paul,  were  still  there ;  some  few  pilgrims 
came  from  all  parts  of  Europe  to  the  city  still  hallowed  by  these 
sacred  monuments.  But  the  tide  of  homage  and  tribute  which  had 
flowed  for  centuries  toward  the  shrine  of  the  successors  of  Saint 
Peter  had  now  taken  another  course.  Pope  Clement  VI.,  more 
prudent  than  courageous,  had  made  Avignon,  a  luxurious  town  of  a 
foreign  prince,  the  court  of  the  Roman  pontiff  and  the  throne  of  the 
Christian  church. 

Rome,  thus  degraded  from  her  high  ecclesiastical  position,  would 
welcome  with  redoubled  energy  whatever  might  recall  her  ancient 
supremacy.  Now  republican  and  now  imperial  Rome  threw  off 
with  disdain  the  thraldom  of  the  papal  dominion.  The  consul  Cre- 
scentius,  the  senator  Brancaleone,  Arnold  of  Brescia,  the  Othos,  the 
Fredericks,  Henry  of  Luxemburg,  Louis  of  Bavaria,  had  all  been 
actors  in  the  drama  which  proclaimed  Rome  a  new  world-ruling 
republic  or  a  new  world-ruling  empire. 

Despite  their  retrogression,  the  Romans  still  possessed  the  sense 
and  the  desire  of  liberty.     For  the  last  two  centuries  they  had  known 


264  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

various  revolutions,  —  brief,  often  blood)',  and  always  unsuccessful. 
Yet  the  empty  form  of  a  popular  government  existed. 

Holding  their  palaces  as  the  castles  and  fortresses  of  princes,  each 
asserting  his  own  independence  of  all  authority  and  law,  the  barons 
of  Rome  made  their  estate  still  more  secure,  and  still  more  odious  to 
the  people  by  the  maintenance  of  troops  of  foreign  (chiefly  German) 
mercenaries,  against  whom  the  Italians  were  no  match  in  discipline 
and  skill. 

Of  these  barons  the  most  powerful  were  the  Orsini  and  Colonna. 
Their  feuds  wer  hereditary  and  incessant;  and  not  a  sun  set  but  that 
the  gathering  darkness  covered  the  fruits  of  their  lawless  warfare,  in 
bloodshed,  in  rape,  and  in  conflagration. 

From  these  multiplied  oppressors  the  Roman  citizens  turned  with 
fond  and  impatient  regret  to  their  ignorant  and  dark  notions  of  de- 
parted liberty  and  greatness.  They  confounded  together  the  times 
of  the  empire  and  those  of  the  republic ;  vainly  imagining  that  if 
both  the  emperor  and  the  pontiff  fixed  their  residence  in  Rome, 
liberty  and  law  would  again  seek  shelter  in  the  city  of  the  seven 
hills. 

Following  in  the  wake  of  the  barons  was  a  crowd  of  lesser  robbers; 
and  more  formidable  than  either  were  the  free-booters,  companies  of 
Germans  organized  for  the  purpose  of  shameless  pillaging,  joined  by 
Romans. 

In  the  year  1343,  among  the  delegates  of  the  people  sent  on  the 
public  mission  to  Clement  VI.  at  Avignon,  was  Cola  di  Rienzi,  a  son 
of  a  Roman  innkeeper  and  a  washerwoman,  born  at  Rome,  1313.  in 
a  quarter  of  the  city  which  was  inhabited  only  by  mechanics  and 
Jews. 

His  early  youth  was  passed  at  Anagni.  When  about  twenty,  he 
returned  to  Rome  and  embraced  the  profession  of  a  notary.  But  his 
chief  occupation  was  pouring  over  those  sacred  antiquities  of  Rome, 
which  exercised  so  powerful   an   influence  on   his    mind.      The   first 


RIENZI,    THE   LAST  OF   THE   ROMAN   TRIBUNES.  267 

dawn  of  those  classical  studies  had  already  been  publically  welcomed 
in  the  coronation  of  Petrarch.  The  respect  for  the  ancient  monu- 
ments of  Rome  and  for  her  famous  writers  became  a  part  of  Rienzi's 
soul.  His  favorite  authors  were  Livy,  Cicero,  Seneca,  Valerius  Max- 
im us ;  but  "  the  magnificent  deeds  and  words  of  the  great  Caesar  were 
his  chief  delight." 

He  contrasted  the  miserable  and  servile  state  of  his  countrymen 
with  that  of  their  free  and  glorious  ancestors.  "  Where  are  those  old 
Romans  ?  where  their  justice  ?  Would  that  I  had  lived  in  their 
times  !  "  The  sense  of  personal  wrong  in  the  murder  of  his  brother 
was  wrought  up  with  his  more  lofty  and  patriotic  feelings.  He  had 
vowed  vengeance  for  the  innocent  blood.  Already  had  he  assumed  the 
office  of  champion  of  the  poor. 

As  a  result  of  the  embassy  to  Avignon,  the  pope  granted  the 
jubilee  of  the  fiftieth  year,  to  be  held  in  Rome;  and  he  also  promised 
when  the  affairs  of  Rome  should  permit,  to  revisit  the  city. 

On  Rienzi's  return  to  Rome  he  heard  it  openly  whispered  that  the 
nobles  were  supported  and  cherished  by  the  pope  himself,  that  they 
waged  wars  with  money  from  the  treasuries  of  the  church. 

The  growing  discontent  grew  more  and  more  outspoken.  More 
and  more  daring  grew  the  robberies  by  the  nobles.  In  the  streets 
hand-to-hand  fights  were  frequent.  In  the  times  of  their  greatest 
disturbances,  the  one  person  in  Rome  who  could  control  the  people 
was  Rienzi,  who  calmed  the  present  by  the  promise  of  the  future. 

Despairing  of  all  alleviation  of  the  calamities  of  the  people  from 
the  ecclesiastical  power,  Rienzi  brooded  over  his  hopes  of  reawaken- 
ing the  old  Roman  spirit  of  liberty.  He  proceeded  with  wonderful 
courage  and  resolution,  submitting  to  every  kind  of  indignity,  and 
assuming  every  disguise  which  might  advance  his  end.  The  worst 
tyrants  with  whom  he  had  to  deal  were  no  frank  and  open  foes,  but 
men  of  "  shifts  and  wiles,  the  subtlest  and  most  deceitful." 

Once  in  his  indignation  he  was  betrayed  into  a  premature  appeal  to 


268  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

the  yet  unawakened  sympathies  of  the  people.  The  only  answer  was 
a  blow  from  a  Norman  kinsman  of  the  Colonnas  ;  in  the  simple 
language  of  the  historian,  "  a  box  on   the  ear  that  rang  again." 

Nightly  meetings  were  held  on  the  Aventine  (he  may  have  learned 
from  Livy  the  secession  of  the  people  to  that  hill),  where  he  addressed 
the  people  with  earnest  eloquence,  which  grew  more  and  more  impas- 
sioned as  their  sympathies  were  awakened. 

Allegorical  picture  was  the  language  of  the  times.  The  church 
had  long  used  it  to  teach  Christian  truth.  Political  purposes  had  been 
consummated  by  it.     It  was  the  familiar  language  of  the  whole  people. 

Rienzi  seized  upon  the  unrestricted  freedom  of  painting.  All  his- 
torians have  dwelt  on  the  masterpiece  of  his  pictorial  eloquence,  "which, 
when  the  people  saw,  every  one  marvelled." 

"  On  a  sinking  ship,  without  mast  or  sail,  sat  a  noble  lady,  in  widow's 
weeds,  with  dishevelled  hair  and  her  hands  crossed  over  her  breast. 
Above  was  written,  '  This  is  Rome.'  She  was  surrounded  by  four 
other  ships,  in  which  sat  women,  who  personated  Babylon,  Carthage, 
Tyre,  and  Jerusalem.  '  Through  unrighteousness,'  ran  the  legend, 
'  these  fell  to  ruin.'  An  inscription  hung  above :  '  Thou,  O  Rome,  art 
exalted  above  all ;  we  await  thy  downfall.'  Three  islands  appeared 
beside  the  ship;  in  one  was  Italy,  in  another  four  of  the  cardinal  vir- 
tues, in  the  third  Christian  faith.  Each  had  its  appropriate  inscrip- 
tion. Over  faith  was  written  '  O  highest  Father,  Ruler  and  Lord, 
when  Rome  sinks,  where  find  I  refuge?'  Bitter  satire  was  not  want- 
ing. Four  rows  of  winged  beasts  stood  above,  who  blew  their  horns 
and  directed  their  pitiless  storm  against  the  sinking  vessel.  The 
lions,  wolves,  and  bears  denoted,  as  the  legend  explained,  the  mighty 
barons  and  traitorous  senators ;  the  dogs,  the  swine,  and  the  bulls 
were  the  counsellors,  the  base  partisans  of  the  nobles ;  the  sheep,  the 
serpents,  and  the  foxes  were  the  officers,  the  false  judges,  and  notaries ; 
the  hares,  cats,  goats,  and  apes,  the  robbers,  murderers,  adulterers, 
thieves,  among  the  people.     Above  was  'God  in   His  majesty  come 


S/VvwS'  Xn^F 


RIE.XZI,    THE   LAST  OF   THE   ROMAN   TRIBUNES.  27  1 

down  to  judgment,  with  two  swords,  as  in  the  Apocalypse,  out  of  his 
mouth.'  Saint  Peter  and  Saint  Paul  were  beneath,  on  either  side,  in 
the  attitude  of  supplication." 

The  morning  of  the  19th  of  May,  1347,  saw  the  beginning  of  the 
end.  The  Colonna  barons  were  absent  from  the  city.  Rienzi's  hour 
had  come. 

Over  the  city  brooded  a  deep  silence.  The  streets  were  deserted. 
The  shops  were  but  half-open.  Toward  noon  a  few  small  knots  of 
men  might  be  seen  scattered  about  here  and  there,  whispering  to  each 
other,  but  soon  dispersing.  Suddenly  there  was  heard  the  sound  of  a 
single  trumpet. 

Slowly  about  the  streets  paced  a  solitary  horseman,  winding  a  long, 
loud  blast  of  the  trumpet  suspended  round  his  neck  as  he  passed. 
Suddenly,  as  if  by  magic,  the  streets  became  thronged  with  multitudes 
—  multitudes  who  broke  the  silence  only  by  the  tramp  of  their  feet 
and  an  indistinct  low  murmur.  The  Romans  were  convened  for  the 
morrow,  at  dawn  of  day,  to  provide  for  the  good  estate  of  Rome. 
The  call  came  from  Rienzi.  This  was  the  commencement  of  the 
revolution. 

All  that  night  Rienzi  was  hearing,  in  the  church  of  St.  Angelo,  the 
thirty  masses  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

On  the  morrow  — 

"  The  Soul  of  the  Past,  again 
To  its  ancient  home, 
In  the  hearts  of  Rome, 
Hath  come  to  resume  its  reign." 

At  ten  in  the  morning  he  came  forth  in  full  armor;  by  his  side 
the  pope's  vicar,  Raimond,  Bishop  of  Orvieto,  and  surrounded  by  a 
guard  of  horsemen.  Amidst  thronging  multitudes  he  ascended  the 
capitol.  The  laws  of  the  good  estate  were  read.  Thev  contained 
the  wild  justice  of  the  wild  times.  The  senators  were  dismissed;  the 
people  shouted  their  approval.  Rienzi  was  invested  with  dictatorial 
power  —  power  over  life  and  limb,  power  to  pardon,  power  to  estab- 


272'  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON    THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

lish  the  good  estate  in  Rome  and  her  domain.  A  few  days  later  he 
took  the  title  of  tribune,  —  an  office  which  had  been  vacant  for  more 
than  five  hundred  years. 

The  Colonna  nobles  returned.  They  all  looked  on  in  wondering 
apathy.  All  the  Colonnas,  the  Orsini,  the  Savelli.  were  compelled  to 
yield  up  their  fortress  palaces,  to  make  oath  that  they  would  protect 
no  robbers  or  malefactors,  to  keep  the  roads  secure,  to  supply  provis- 
ions to  the  city,  to  appear  in  arms  or  without  at  the  summons  of  the 
magistracy.  All  orders  took  the  same  oath  ;  they  swore  to  maintain 
the  laws  of  the  good  estate. 

"  Never,  perhaps,"  says  Gibbon,  "  has  the  energy  and  effect  of  a 
single  mind  been  more  remarkably  felt  than  in  the  sudden,  though 
transient,  reformation  of  Rome  by  the  tribune  Rienzi." 

A  den  of  robbers  was  converted  to  the  discipline  of  a  camp  or  con- 
vent. After  the  death  of  Orsini,  the  chief  of  that  tribe  of  nobles,  none 
who  were  "conscious  of  guilt  could  hope  for  impunity;  and  the  flight 
of  the  wicked,  the  licentious,  and  the  idle,  soon  purified  the  city  and 
the  territory  of  Rome." 

In  this  time  (writes  the  historian)  the  woods  began  to  rejoice  that 
they  were  no  longer  infected  with  robbers  ;  the  oxen  began  to  plow ; 
the  pilgrims  visited  the  sanctuaries  ;  the  roads  and  inns  were  replen- 
ished with  travellers ;  trade,  plenty,  and  good  faith  were  restored  in 
the  markets ;  and  a  purse  of  gold  might  be  exposed  in  the  highway 
without  danger.  Her  fame  spread.  Supreme  tribunal  and  confederate 
union  of  the  Italian  republic  might  have  healed  their  intestine  discord 
and  closed  the  Alps  against  the  barbarians. 

"  But  the  varnish  of  power  brings  forth  at  once  the  defects  and 
beauties  of  the  human  mind."  The  leap  of  an  hour  from  a  citizen  to 
a  prince,  from  the  victim  of  oppression  to  the  dispenser  of  justice,  is 
dangerous  in  proportion  to  the  imagination,  the  enthusiasm,  the  genius 
of  the  man.  The  qualities  that  make  him  rise  hurry  him  to  his  fall. 
The  great  misfortune  of  a  man   nobler  than  his  age  is,  "  the  instru- 


RIEXZf,    THE  LAST  OF  THE   ROM  AX   TRIBUNES.  2J  $ 

merits  he  must  use  soil  himself;  half  he  reforms  his  times;  but  half, 
too,  the  times  will  corrupt  the  reformer." 

Rienzi  did  not  so  much  acquire  new  qualities  as  develop  in  greater 
contrast  those  which  he  already  had  exhibited.  Prosperity  made  more 
apparent  his  justice,  his  integrity,  his  patriotism,  his  virtue,  and  his 
genius;  but  it  also  brought  to  light  more  conspicuously  his  arrogant 
superiority,  his  love  of  display,  and  his  daring  ambition. 

He  was  faithful  to  his  idol  of  liberty.  Even  his  enemies  admitted 
that.  His  pomp  was  the  custom  of  the  age.  His  gorgeous  festivals 
increased  the  importance  of  the  tribune  abroad.  Taste  grew  refined, 
and  foreigners  from  all  states  were  attracted  by  the  splendor  of  his 
court.  "  And  often  since  then  it  has  been  recalled  with  a  sigh  by  the 
poor  for  its  justice,  the  merchant  for  its  security,  the  gallant  for  its 
splendor,  the  poet  for  its  ideal  and  intellectual  grace." 

The  secret  of  much  of  his  greatness,  many  of  his  errors,  was  his 
great  religious  enthusiasm.  Had  there  been  a  brave,  intelligent  people 
to  back  him,  Italy's  thraldom  would  have  closed;  and  the  bright  dream 
which  every  great  Italian  has  dreamed  from  Dante  to  Mazzini  —  the 
unity  of  Italy  and  the  supremacy  of  Rome  —  would  have  been  realized. 

But  the  barons  were  revolving  projects  for  the  restoration  of  their 
own  power.  Incited  by  the  pope,  who  was  jealous  of  Rienzi,  they 
moved  from  Palestrina,  November  30,  and  encamped  before  Rome. 
A  fierce  conflict  was  fought  all  that  da)-.  At  eve  the  battle  ceased. 
Of  the  barons,  who  had  been  the  main  object  of  the  tribune's  assault, 
the  pride  and  boast  was  broken ;  but  the  slaughter  of  the  citizens  had 
been  tremendous. 

Needing  money  constantly  to  repulse  the  nobles,  Rienzi  levied 
taxes  in  a  tyrannical  way.  The  people  rebelled.  The  pope  saw  his 
opportunity,  and  threatened  him  with  excommunication  on  the  charge 
of  heresy.  His  followers  deserted  him  in  large  numbers.  He  lost 
heart,  and,  lacking  the  daring  recklessness  which  would  have  held  his 
power,  he  resigned  the  office  which  had  been  his  for  seven  months, 


2  74 


ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


and  took  refuge  in  the  castle  St.  Angelo,  a  Franciscan  convent  of  the 

Apennines,  Dec.  15,  1347,  where  he  remained  for  two  and  one  half  years. 

He  had  reared  his  edifice  on  a  quicksand,  —  the   Roman  people. 

Their  passion   of    virtue    had 


been  too  violent  to  last.  The 
virtues  of  old  Rome  —  fru- 
gality, fortitude,  love  of  order, 
respect  for  law,  —  were  virtues 
of  slow  growth.  They  had 
been  depressed  too  long,  too 
low ;  they  were  fierce  and 
fickle. 

The  two  years  and  one- 
half  following  his  resignation 
were  one  long  tale  of  deep  and 
dire  disaster  to  the  people. 
The  nobles  were  again  in 
power.  Fires  followed  earth- 
quakes —  the  clangers  of  both 
were  small  compared  with  the 
power  of  that  terrible  scourge, 
the    Black   Plague. 

In  the  year  of  jubilee 
Rome  swarmed  with  pilgrims. 
Rienzi  stole  in  in  disguise. 
On  his  return  to  the  convent, 
he  was  induced  by  the  hermit 
Fra  Angelo  to  undertake  a 
mission  to  the  Emperor 
Charles  IV.  for  the  good  of 
mankind,  by  the  restoration 
of  the  power  of  the  emperors.     The  mission  was  unsuccessful.     He 


HOUSE    OF    COLA    DI    RIEXZI. 


RIENZI,    THE  LAST  OF  THE  ROMAN  TRIBUNES.  275 

was  imprisoned  by  Charles,  at  the  command  of  the  pope,  and  sent 
to  Avignon. 

After  a  time  interest  was  again  aroused  in  him.  Petrarch  even 
ventured  to  write  to  Rome  to  urge  the  intercession  of  the  people  in 
his  behalf. 

In  1354  he  was  sent  to  Rome,  with  the  title  of  senator,  by  the 
pope,  who  proposed  to  use  the  talents  he  possessed  for  the  restoration 
of  order  in  the  capital.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  he  was  killed  in 
an  assault  upon  the  capitol,  by  the  people  whose  defiance  was  again 
aroused  against  him.  Disguised  as  a  shepherd,  he  slipped  into  the 
crowd,  but,  recognized  by  the  golden  bracelets  which  he  had  forgotten 
to  remove,  he  was  stabbed  with  a  thousand  wounds,  Sept.  8,  1 354. 
For  two  days  his  body  was  exposed  to  the  assault  and  indignities  of 
the  people,  and  then  burned. 

"  I  loved  his  virtues,  I  praised  his  design  ;  I  congratulated  Italy  ; 
I  looked  forward  to  the  dominion  of  the  beloved  city  and  the  peace  of 
the  world."1 

THE  ROMAN  HYMN  OF  LIBERTY.2 

"  Let  the  mountains  exult  around  !  " 
On  her  seven  hill'd  throne  renowned, 
Once  more  old  Rome  is  crown'd. 

Jubilate  ! 

Sing  out,  O  vale  and  wave ; 

Look  out  from  each  laurell'd  grave, 

Bright  dust  of  the  deathless  brave. 

Jubilate! 

Pale  vision,  what  art  thou  ?     Lo  ! 

From  time's  dark  deeps, 

Like  a  wind  it  sweeps, 

Like  a  wind  when  the  tempests  blow: 
A  shadowy  form,  as  a  giant  ghost. 
It  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  armed  host,  — 
The  dead  man's  shroud  on  its  awful  limbs  : 
And  the  gloom  of  its  presence  the  davlight  dims  : 

1  Petrarch.  -  Sung  at  the  triumph  of  Rienzi 


276  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

And  the  trembling  world  looks  on  aghast  — 
All  hail  to  the  Soul  of  the  Mighty  Past  ! 

Hail!  all  hail! 

As  we  speak,  as  we  hallow,  it  moves,  it  breathes ; 
From  its  clouded  crest  bud  the  laurel  wreaths  ; 
As  a  sun  that  leaps  up  from  the  arms  of  night, 
The  shadow  takes  shape  and  the  gloom  takes  light ; 
Hail !  all  hail ! 

The  Soul  of  the  Past,  again 

To  its  ancient  home, 

In  the  hearts  of  Rome, 
Hath  come  to  resume  its  reign. 

O   Fame,  with  a  prophet's  voice, 

Bid  the  ends  of  the  earth  rejoice, 

Wherever  the  proud  are  strong, 

And  right  is  oppress'd  by  wrong, 

Wherever  the  day  dim  shines 

Through  the  cell  where  the  captive  pines  : 

Go  forth,  with  a  trumpet's  sound, 

And  tell  to  the  nations  round  — 

On  the  hills  which  the  heroes  trod, 

In  the  shrines  of  the  saints  of  God, 

In  the  Caesars'  hall  and  the  martyrs'  prison  — 

That  the  slumber  is  broke  and  the  sleeper  arisen; 

That  the  reign  of  the  Goth  and  the  Vandal  is  o'er, 

And  earth  feels  the  tread  of  the  Roman  once  more  ! 


CHAPTER    XV. 

NAPLES.  —  ROMAN    FAIRY   TALES.  — THE   STORY   OF   SORDELLO. 


HE  white  city  of  Naples  rises  over  the  blue  sea, 
under  a  sky  all  sun  and  cerulean  ;  and  Vesuvius 
rises  over  the  city,  serene  and  cloudless,  except  a 
pearly  column  of  smoke  fading  in  air.  The 
Bay  of  Naples,  with  its  margin  of  villas  and  gar- 
dens, is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world. 
Any  one  who  has  seen  it  will  dream  of  it  ever  after. 

'•  My  soul  to-day 
Is  far  away, 
Sailing  on  the  Yesuvian  bay.'' 

Naples  is  a  picture.  It  is  a  city  of  palaces,  churches,  and  gardens, 
a  little  more  than  one  hundred  miles  from  Rome,  with  which  it  con- 
nects by  railway. 

Our  travellers,  with  Mr.  Ware  make  one  or  two  visits  to  Rome 
from  Brindisi.  They  found  the  city  almost  deserted  by  travellers,  and 
to  be  hot  and  presumably  unhealthy.  There  were  improvements  mak- 
ing in  the  harbor  of  Brindisi,  and  they  feared  malaria  as  a  consequence. 
So  Mr.  Van  der  Palm,  Percy,  and  Mr.  Ware  thought  it  well  to  go  to 
Naples,  and  to  secure  there  one  of  the  cool  villas  overlooking  the  sea. 
This  they  did ;  and  established  themselves  on  one  of  the  hills  near  the 
city  of  palaces,  in  the  clear,  cool,  and  delicious  atmosphere.  They 
could  now  go  to   Rome  and   return   in   a  single  day. 

Story-telling  began  again  in  the  gardens  of  the  Neapolitan  villa. 
Mr.  Van  der  Palm  drew  around  him  his  usual  consular  company,  and 
these  were  pleased  to  relate  stories  of  the  ports. 


278 


ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  OX   THE   MEDITERRA.XEAK. 


Mr.  Ware  interested  Percy  in  the  old  fairy  tales  of  Rome.  Such 
tales  were  usually  associated  with  the  Lar,  which  was  the  house  spirit, 
or  with  the  Lares  and  Penates,  the  household  gods. 


OLD    ENTRANCE   TO    NATIONAL    VILLA,    NAPLES. 

In  old   Roman  days  each   hearth    had    its    guardian   spirit.     The 
beautiful  old  stories  of  Rome  were  thus  full  of  fairy-land. 

Let  me  give  you  one  of  these  stories  as  related  to  Percy  by  good 
Mr.  Ware,  who  lived  in  ancient  Rome  in  his  imagination  on  the  old 
New  England  parsonage  farm. 

THE   POT   OF   GOLD. 


In  every  Roman  household,  a  sort  of  familiar  spirit,  or  Lar  Familiaris, 
was  supposed  to  reside,  having  his  own  little  altar  near  the  family  hearth, 
and  whose  business  it  was  to  look  after  the  family  fortunes 

The  Lar  of  whom  this  story  tells,  presided  over  an  establishment  whose 
owners  for  a  generation  had  been  misers. 

Shortly  before  the    grandfather  died  he  had    buried    under  the  hearth  a 


THE  POT  OE  GOLD.  281 

"pot  of  gold,"  intrusting  the  secret  only  to  the  house  spirit,  and  praying  the 
Lar  to  see  to  its  safe  keeping. 

The  son  was  rather  worse  than  the  father,  making  fewer  sacrifices  to  the 
Lar  than  the  old  man  had  done.  The  Lar  saw  no  good  reason  for  discover- 
ing the  secret  to  hint. 

The  grandson,  Euclio,  was  as  bad  as  either  father  or  grandfather,  neglect- 
ing the  Lar  and  his  own  family. 

But  he  had  a  beautiful  daughter  who  was  constantly  paying  the  Lar  little 
attentions,  bringing  incense,  and  wine,  and  garlands,  to  decorate  his  altar. 

The  Lar  loved  her,  and  pondered  on  what  he  could  do  to  make  her  happy. 
She  will  be  expecting  a  husband  soon:  the  family  guardian  made  his  selec- 
tion for  her,  — -  Lyconides,  nephew  to  one  of  their  neighbors,  Megadorus. 

As  the  Lar  had  some  good  reason  to  know  that  the  young  man  would  not 
be  acceptable  to  her  father,  he  contrived  that  the  uncle  should  ask  the  girl  in 
marriage  for  himself,  and  afterward  resign  in  his  nephew's  favor. 

The  miser  Euclio  knew  not  how  to  provide  a  marriage  dowry  for  his 
daughter.  "Now,"  the  Lar  thought,  "my  opportunity  has  come;"  and  he 
made  known  to  the  father  the  secret  of  the  buried  treasure,  hoping  that  out 
of  it  he  would  provide  a  dowry  for  the  young  girl. 

But  the  poor  Lar  was  disappointed,  for  Euclio  had  no  intention  of  using 
the  gold  in  that  way  or  in  any  other.  It  became  at  once  his  one  delight  and 
his  perpetual  torment.  He  was  in  continual  terror  lest  its  hiding-place 
should  be  discovered.  Every  noise  he  heard,  he  fancied  some  one  was  carry- 
ing off  his  treasure.  His  poor  old  housekeeper,  Staphyla,  led  a  wretched 
life  from  his  unceasing  worry.  No  offerings  were  now  made  to  the  unhappy 
Lar. 

One  clay  old  Megadorus  came  to  ask  the  hand  of  his  daughter. 

"  He  wants  her  for  the  money,"  he  said  to  himself. 

His  terrors  grew  greater  and  greater.  He  suspected  every  one  of  being  a 
thief.  At  last,  under  protest  that  he  was  a  very  poor  man,  he  consented  to 
give  Megadorus  his  daughter.  The  latter  believed  him,  but  was  prepared  to 
take  her  without  a  dowry;  he  will  even  provide  out  of  his  own  purse  all  the 
expenses  of  the  wedding-feast,  and  will  send  to  the  house  of  Euclio  both  the 
provisions  and  the  cooks  required  for  the  occasion. 

But  the  cooks  are  another  source  of  agony  to  the  miser.  One  of  them 
called  for  a  "  larger  pot :  "   he  is  sure  they  know  his  secret. 

One  day  he  found  a  cock  scratching  about  the  house;  he  knew  the  new- 
comers had  trained  him  to  discover  the  buried  treasure,  and  in  his  anger  he 
killed  the  poor  bird. 


282 


ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 


And  last  he  drove  the  cooks  off  the  premises  under  a  shower  of  blows  and 
digging  up  his  gold,  concealed  it  under  his  cloak.  Then  his  peril  was 
greater  than  before;  so,  carrying  the  pot  of  gold  to  the  Temple  of  Faith,  he 
placed  it  under  that  goddess's  protection. 

Discovering  that  this  proceeding  had  been  watched  by  a  slave  of 
Megadorus,  Euclio  took  the  treasure  from  the  temple  and  buried  it  in  a 
sacred  grove.     The  slave  was  more  successful  this  time;  he  was  hidden  in 


I'HE    AQUARIUM,    NAPLES. 


the  tree  beneath  which  the  gold  was  buried,  and  when  Euclio  was  gone,  he 
unearthed  the  pot,  and  carried  it  off  rejoicing. 

The  discovery  of  his  loss  drove  the  miser  frantic.  He  is  represented  in 
an  old  play  as  saying,  — 

"I'm  ruined,  dead,  murdered!  Where  shall  I  run?  Where  shall  I  not 
run  to?  Stop  him  there,  stop  him!  Stop  whom  ?  Who's  to  stop  him?  I 
can't  tell,  I  can  see  nothing,  I  'm  going  blind.  Where  I  'm  going,  or  where 
I  am,  or  who  I  am,  I  cannot  for  my  life  be  sure  of.  Oh,  pray,  I  beseech 
you,  help  me!  I  implore  you,  do!  Show  me  the  man  that  stole  it.  Ah! 
people  put  on  respectable  clothes,  and  sit  there  as  if  they  were  all  honest. 
What  did  you  say,  sir?  I  can  believe  you,  I  'm  sure  —  I  can  see  from  your 
looks  you  're  an  honest  man.  What  is  it?  Why  do  you  all  laugh?  Ah,  I 
know  you  all !  There  are  thieves  here,  I  know,  in  plenty.  Eh !  have  none 
of  them  got  it?  I  'm  a  dead  man!  Tell  me,  then,  who  's  got  it.  You  don't 
know?  Oh,  wretch,  wretch  that  I  am!  —  utterly  lost  and  ruined.  Never 
was  man  in  such  miserable  plight.  Oh,  what  groans,  what  horrible  anguish 
this  day  has  brought  me!  — poverty  and  hunger.     I  'm  the  most  unhappy  man 


TWELVE  FEET  OF  NOSE.  283 

on  earth.  For  what  use  is  life  to  me  when  I  have  lost  all  my  gold  ?  And 
I  kept  it  so  carefully,  —  pinched  myself,  starved  myself,  denied  myself  in 
everything.  And  now  others  are  making  merry  over  it,  —  mocking  at  my 
loss  and  my  misery.      I  cannot  bear  it !  " 

In  the  midst  of  the  miser's  terror  there  came  to  him  handsome  young 
Lyconides,  the  nephew  whom  the  house  spirit  designed  that  the  lovely 
daughter  should  marry.  He  confessed  that  his  uncle  had  been  courting  the 
girl  for  him,  and  that  he  himself  had  stolen  his  daughter's  affections. 

The  old  man  cared  nothing  for  his  daughter's  affections,  but  only  the  lost 
pot  of  gold. 

Lyconides  promised  to  go  in  search  of  the  gold.  The  thief  proved  to  be 
the  slave  of  his  uncle. 

Euclio  gave  his  daughter  to  Lyconides;  and  the  pot  of  gold  was  her 
marriage  dowry. 

Every  one  was  delighted  ;  the  beautiful  daughter  was  happy,  and  the  Lar 
could  dance  again  on  the  hearth,  rejoicing  in  the  gifts  with  which  on  family 
days,  holidays,  and  the  Saturnalia  he  found  his  altar  loaded. 

TWELVE    FEET    OF    NOSE. 
THE    QUEEREST    OF    THE    ROMAN    FAIRY    TALES. 

There  was  once  an  old  father.  His  last  sickness  came.  He  had  three 
sons,  and  he  called  them  about  his  bed  to  make  his  will. 

"  I  am  about  to  leave  this  world  of  trouble,"  he  said.  "  I  have  no  gold  to 
leave  you,  but  I  have  three  gifts  for  you  that  have  magic  power.  I  give  to 
you,"  he  continued,  addressing  the  eldest,  "this  old  hat." 

"But  what  good  will  it  do  me,  Father?" 

"As  often  as  you  put  it  on  it  will  make  you  invisible." 

To  his  second  son  he  said,  "I  give  you  this  purse." 

"But,  Father,  it  is  old  and  empty." 

"  Yes,  but  as  often  as  you  put  your  thumb  and  finger  into  it,  you  will  find 
a  scudo  there." 

To  his  third  son  he  said,    "  I  leave  to  you  this  horn." 

"  But  what  good  will  it  do  me,  Father?   It  is  only  emptv  air  to  toot  a  horn." 

"  As  often  as  you  sound  that  horn,  my  son,  it  will  bring  you  whatever 
you  wish. 

"And  now,"  continued  the  old  man,  "you  are  all  well  provided  for.  Let 
no  man  rob  you  of  these  things,  and  you  will  all  be  prosperous  and  happy. 


2S4  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

The  magic  One  will  ever  be  at  your  call."  And  he  turned  his  face  to  the 
wall  and  died. 

The  eldest  brother  went  one  day  to  the  palace,  and  found  that  the  queen 
was  fond  of  cards. 

"  Go  play  with  the  queen,"  he  said  to  his  second  brother.  "  You  have  the 
purse  that  never  fails." 

The  young  man  went.      The  queen  beat  him  at  the  game,  but  said,  — 

"You  are  poor;   I  will  not  demand  payment  of  you." 


MONUMENT    OF    VICO,    NAPLES. 

"But  I  have  money  at  my  command.  I  have  only  to  do  this,  and  the  One 
will  come."     And  he  opened  the  purse,  and  took  out  fifty  scudi. 

'That  is  a  strange  purse,"  said  the  queen.      "  Let  me  look  at  it." 

He  gave  it  to  her  to  examine,  and  as  often  as  she  put  her  thumb  and 
finger  into  it  she  found  a  scudo  there. 

"Give  it  to  me,"  said  the  queen. 

"  I  cannot;    't  was  my  father's  last  gift." 

"Then  I  will  keep  it;  "  and  she  called  the  guard  to  lead  the  young  man 
out  of  the  palace. 

He  went  home  and  told  his  brother  how  he  had  been  treated. 


TWELVE  FEET  OF  NOSE.  285 

"  I  will  go  to  the  palace  and  recover  the  purse,"  said  the  eldest. 

So  he  put  on  his  magic  hat  and  went  to  the  palace.  He  demanded  of  the 
queen  the  return  of  the  purse. 

"  Who  are  you  to  command  me?  "   said  the  queen. 

"  I  can  make  myself  invisible,"  said  the  young  man. 

"How?" 

"By  this  magic  hat." 

"  Let  me  look  at  it. " 

He  showed  her  how  as  often  as  he  put  it  on  he  became  invisible,  and  when 
he  took  it  off,  he  appeared  again. 

"That  is  very  strange,"  said  the  queen.  "I  wonder  if  it  would  make  me 
invisible;  let  me  see.  " 

The  youth  handed  her  the  hat.  She  put  it  on  and  disappeared.  He  could 
not  find  her  anywhere;  but  the  same  guard  came  to  him  as  had  seized  his 
brother,  and  led  him  out  of  the  palace. 

He  went  home  sorrowful,  and  told  his  two  brothers  what  had  befallen 
him. 

"  I  will  go  to  the  palace  with  my  horn,"  said  the  third  brother,  "and  will 
recover  both  the  hat  and  the  purse." 

So  he  went  to  the  palace  and  blew  his  horn,  and  summoned  the  One. 
"An  army,"  he  said;  and  an  army  came. 

The  queen  was  terribly  frightened.  She  called  the  youngest  brother  to 
her  and  said,  "  How  did  you  get  your  army?  " 

"  With  this  horn." 

"  It  would  be  a  good  thing  for  me  to  have.  Let  me  blow  it,  only  just 
once. " 

He  handed  her  the  horn.  She  blew  it,  and  the  One  came  with  magic 
power. 

"  Let  the  guard  appear,"  she  said. 

The  guard  appeared  as  before,  and  led  the  young  man  out  of  the  palace, 
and  the  queen  now  possessed  the  purse,  the  hat,  and  the  horn. 

The  three  brothers  were  now  woful  and  poor,  but  the  One  did  not  fail 
them  in  their  need. 

The  youngest  brother  one  day  being  very  hungry  came  to  a  wonderful  fig- 
tree,  and  began  to  eat  the  figs;  but  every  fig  that  he  ate  caused  his  nose  to 
grow  a  foot  in  length.  His  nose  became  so  long  that  it  reached  to  the 
ground,  and  he  did  not  know  what  to  do.  He  went  to  a  cherry-tree  and 
began  to  eat  cherries.  Every  cherry  that  he  swallowed  caused  his  nose  to 
shorten,  and  at  last  it  was  as  before. 


286  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON  THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

"I  will  go  and  sell  some  of  these  figs  to  the  queen,"  he  said.  "I  will 
see  how  she  will  look  then." 

So  he  went  under  the  palace  windows  and  cried,  "  Figs. "  The  queen  pur- 
chased a  basketful  and  ate  twelve,  and  her  nose  became  twelve  feet  long,  so 
that  it  dragged  on  the  ground. 

"And  now  I  appear  as  a  doctor,"  said  the  youth. 

"  I  would  give  half  of  my  kingdom  to  be  cured,"  said  the  queen. 

"Give  me  only  the  hat,  purse,  and  horn,  and  I  can  cure  you  if  I  will,"  said 
the  youth. 

The  queen  restored  to  him  the  cap,  purse,  and  horn. 

"But  I  will  not,'"  said  the  youth.  "You  shall  reap  as  you  have  sown. 
Wear  your  nose  as  a  warning."  And  he  put  on  the  hat  and  was  invisible;  he 
blew  the  horn,  and  was  borne  away  from  the  palace ;  and  he  went  home,  and 
they  had  a  feast  out  of  the  magic  purse. 

They  never  parted  with  their  treasures  after  that ;  and  the  One  always 
came  when  wanted. 

As  for  the  poor  queen,  she  dragged  about  the  twelve  feet  of  nose  until  her 
dying  day;  and  no  one  would  marry  her,  as  we  may  imagine;  and  we  hope 
that  no  one  in  her  kingdom  ever  dared  to  be  greedy  or  insincere  again,  with 
such  an  awful  warning  before  him.  Think  of  a  queen  with  twelve  feet  of 
nose;  but  however  badly  she  may  have  looked,  she  appeared  no  worse  than 
do  others  who  have  been  deformed  in  character  by  selfishness  and  insincerity. 

The  company  made  a  study  of  Browning  in  their  villa.  The 
poems  of  Browning  are  like  a  guide-book  in  Italy. 

Among  these  poems  was  "  Sordello."  The  poem  was  written  by 
Browning  in  his  early  life,  and  was  greatly  ridiculed  at  the  time  of  its 
appearance  for  its  supposed  obscurity.  It  is  stated  that  Tennyson 
said  of  it,  "  There  were  only  two  lines  in  it  that  I  could  understand, 
and  they  were  both  lies.     The  first  was  — 

"  '  Who  will  may  hear  Sordello's  story  told.'     And  the  other  — 

"  '  Who  would  has  heard  Sordello's  story  told.'  " 

What  was  Sordello's  story  ? 

Percy  undertook  the  study  of  the  poem.  His  first  efforts  to  inter- 
pret it  were  not  satisfactory.  He  read  it  a  second  time  with  a  daugh- 
ter of  one  of  the  consuls,  named  Blanche. 


THE  LEGEND   OF  SORDELLO.  287 

•'  How  do  you  understand  it  ?  "  he  asked  of  her  one  evening  at 
Naples. 

"  It  represents  a  life  of  good  inspirations  ruined  for  a  time  by 
vanity,  but  made  noble  in  the  end  by  the  return  of  the  first  inspir- 
ation," said  the  girl.  "  Sordello  in  his  years  of  opportunity  thought 
more  of  receiving  praise  for  his  work  than  of  the  work  itself." 

"  It  then  represents  a  lost  opportunity  ?  "  said  Percy. 

"  But  Sordello  saved  himself  at  the  end.  These  poems  of  Brown- 
ing," added  Blanche,  "  make  me  feel  as  though  I  were  near  the  judg- 
ment clay.  When  I  read  '  Sordello,'  I  find  myself  continually  asking 
myself  if   I   am   living  a  true  and   sincere  life." 

"  You  are  not  the  first  person  who  has  been  troubled  over  '  Sor- 
dello,' "  said  Blanche.  "  Let  me  tell  you  an  incident  related  in  Powell's 
"  Living   Authors   of  England." 

Blanche  gave  the  incident  from  the  book,  which  is  as  follows : 

"  Douglas  Jerrold  was  recruiting  himself  at  Brighton  after  a  long  illness. 
In  the  progress  of  his  convalescence  a  parcel  arrived  from  London,  which  con- 
tained, among  other  things,  this  new  volume  of  '  Sordello.'  The  medical  attend- 
ant had  forbidden  Mr.  Jerrold  the  luxury  of  reading;  but  owing  to  the  absence 
of  his  conjugal  '  life-guards,'  he  indulged  in  the  illicit  enjoyment.  A  few  lines 
put  Jerrold  in  a  state  of  alarm.  Sentence  after  sentence  brought  no  consec- 
utive thought  to  his  brain.  At  last  the  idea  crossed  his  mind  that  in  his  illness 
his  mental  faculties  had  been  wrecked.  The  perspiration  rolled  from  his  fore- 
head; and  smiting  his  head,  he  sat  down  in  his  sofa,  crying,  'O  God,  I  am  an 
idiot  !  '  When  his  wife  and  sister  came,  they  were  amused  by  his  pushing  the 
volume  into  their  hands,  and  demanding  what  the}'  thought  of  it.  He  watched 
them  intently  while  they  read.  At  last  his  wife  said,  '  I  don't  understand  what 
the  man  means;  it  is  gibberish.'  The  delighted  humorist  sank  in  his  seat 
again:  '  Thank  God,  I  am  not  an  idiot.'  Mr.  Browning,  to  whom  we  told  this, 
has  often  laughed  over  it;  and  then  endeavored  to  show  that  '  Sordello  '  was  the 
clearest  and  most  simple  poem  in  the  English  language.  This  experience  it 
was,  perhaps,  which  made  Jerrold  say  of  Browning's  style,  that  he  '  wrote  Greek 
in  shorthand.' " 


2S8  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   OX   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  Carlyle,"  said  Blanche,  "  once  wrote,  '  My  wife  has  read  through 
"  Sordello  "  without  being  able  to  make  out  whether  Sordello  was  a 
man,  a  city,  or  a  book.'      Poor  Jane  Carlyle." 

"Suppose  you  make  an  analysis  of  the  poem,"  said  Percy,  "and 
give  it  to  me  ;  then  I  will  try  to  read  it  again." 

Blanche  wrote  out  an  analysis,  having  studied  Mrs.  Dall  and 
other  works,  and  combining  all  of  the  authorities  she  could  find  on  the 
subject,  and  quoting  much  from  the  poem  itself.  The  result  was  as 
follows  :  — 

THE    LEGEND    OF    SORDELLO.1 
'•  Who  wills  may  hear  Sordello's  story  told: 


Sordello,  compassed  murkily  about 

With  ravage  of  six  long,  sad  hundred  years." 


The  thirteenth  century  was  remarkable  for  its  brilliant  virtues  and  atrocious 
crimes.  Men  lived  on  no  medium  ground;  they  were  either  heroes  or  mon- 
sters. The  Crusades,  which  for  two  centuries  had  kept  all  Europe  in  a  tumult, 
were  drawing  to  a  close.  Attended  by  all  the  disorder,  license,  and  crime 
with  which  war  is  always  accompanied,  they  were  nevertheless  productive  of 
much  lasting  good  in  the  progress  of  civilization.  Three  direct  results  were 
noticeable.  Feudalism  received  its  death-blow.  By  its  fall  the  kings  and  the 
people  came  into  prominence.  The  wealth  of  the  church  had  been  increased, 
and  the  power  of  the  papacy  had  been  strengthened.  A  fierce  struggle  between 
the  church  and  the  empire —  the  struggle  between  religious  and  secular  author- 
it)" —  had  long  been  raging.  The  Guelfs  fought  for  the  church  and  the  people; 
the  Ghibellines  fought  for  the  emperor,  opposing  the  rule  of  the  church  in  sec- 
ular matters. 

"The  strife  in  the  reign  of  Frederick  II.  was  not,"   says  Dean  Milman,  "  for 
any  specific  point  in   dispute,  like   the  right  of  investiture,    but  avowedly  for 
supremacy  on   one    side,   which    hardly  deigned  to    call    itself   independence; 
for  independence  on  the  other,  which,  remotely  at  least,  aspired  after  suprem 
acy.     Caesar  would  bear  no  superior,  the  successor  of  Saint  Peter  no  equal." 

In  the  midst  of  the  din  of  political  turmoil,  the  smoke  of  war  and   intrigue, 

1  I  am  indebted   to  Miss  Florence   A.  Blanchard,  a   young   teacher  and   author,  for    this   elegant 
analysis. 


THE   LEGEND   OF  SORDELLO.  289 

at  the  very  close  of  the  twelfth  century,  the  hero  of  our  story,  Sordello,  named 
now  with  only  one  name  —  that  of  Dante  —  was  born. 

The  biographical  difficulties  which  surround  him  are  too  numerous  to 
mention,  and  too  conflicting  to  be  unravelled.  Little  is  now  known  about 
him  and  that  little  is  much  obscured  by  tradition  and  legend.  Two  persons 
may  have  been  mixed  together  in  the  accounts  given  of  him.  One  of  these  per- 
sons was  a  poet,  and  the  other  was  a  man  of  action  and  political  intrigue. 

"  He  was  plainly  a  distinguished  person  in  his  time,  a  cunning  craftsman  in 
the  choice  and  use  of  language  ;  but  if  this  was  all,  his  name  would  only  rank 
with  a  number  of  others,  famous  in  their  time,  but  under  the  cloud  of  greater 
successors.  He  may  have  been  something  more  than  a  poet :  he  may  have 
been  a  ruler,  though  that  is  doubtful.  But  we  know  him,  because  in  the  ante- 
chamber of  purgatory  he  was  so  much  to  Dante."  1 

"  Nothing  whatever  did  it  say  to  us, 

But  let  us  go  our  way,  eying  us  only 

After  the  manner  of  a  couchant  lion  : 
Still  near  to  it  Virgilius  drew,  entreating 

That  it  would  point  us  out  the  best  ascent; 

And  it  replied  not  unto  his  demand, 
But  of  our  native  land  and  of  our  life 

It  questioned  us  ;   and  the  sweet  guide  began  : 
'  Mantua,'  —  and  the  shade,  all  in  itself  recluse. 
Rose  towards  him  from  the  place  where  first  it  was, 

Saying  :  '  O  Mantuan,  I  am  Sordello, 

Of  thine  own  land ! '  and  one  embraced  the  other." 

"  He  leads  his  companions  to  the  secret  and  guarded  valley  where  kings 
and  princes  of  the  earth,  who  have  meant  to  do  their  duty,  but  in  the  end  have 
not  fulfilled  their  trust,  must  wait  outside  of  purgatory  the  hour  of  mercy: 
when  Dante  sees  their  still  sadness,  and  learns  their  names,  and  hears  their 
evening  hymns.  And  here  we  learn  Dante's  judgment  on  Sordello  himself;  he 
is  placed  among  those  who  had  great  opportunities  and  great  thoughts,  —  the 
men  of  great  chances  and  great  failures."  2 

Six  hundred  years  ago  the  river  Alincio  formed  around  Mantua  a  great 
marsh,  which  separated  the  city  from  the  low  mountains,  covered  with  firs, 
larches,  and  rings  of  vineyard.     Among  these  mountains  stood  Goito,  — 

"  Just  a  castle  built  amid 
A  few  low  mountains." 


19 


290  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

Pass  within.     You  wander  through  "  a  maze  of  corridors  contrived  for  sin,"  and 

on   through  "  dusk  winding  stairs,"  through  "dim  galleries,"  till  at  last  "you 

gain  the  inmost  chambers,  gain  at  last  a  maple-panelled   room."     A  sunbeam 

floats  about  the  panel,  and  in   its   golden   light  the   graven   characters   unfold 

"  the  Arab's  wisdom   everywhere."      But  the  main  wonder  is  a  vault,  and  in 

its  midst  — 

"  A  dullish  gray-streaked  cumbrous  font." 

Four  shrinking  Caryatides  encircle  it. 

For  many  a  year,  every  evening  just  at  sunset,  a  slender  boy,  in  a  loose 
page's  dress,  emerged  from  the  castle  to  sit  in  turn  beside  each  one  of  the 
patient,  marble  girls  who  crouched  beneath  the  font,  and  prayed  that  they 
might  win  pardon  for  the  sins  for  which  he  fancied  them  to  be  doing  penance 
in  stone. 

"  'T  is  autumn."  With  an  earnest  smile  he  watched  the  noisy  flock  of 
thievish  birds  at  work  among  the  yellowing  vineyards. 

"  'T  is  winter,  with  its  sullenest  of  storms."  Lifting  a  light  with  both  hands 
to  the  embroidered  forms  of  the  arras,  he  studied  the  proud  barons  and  fair 
dames  of  the  house  of  Romano,  the  ancestors  of  Ecelin  da  Romano,  surnamed 
il  Monaco,  a  Ghibelline  prince,  whose  wife  Adelaide  was  mistress  of  Goito. 
He  turns  away.  Yourself  shall  trace  the  delicate  nostril,  the  sharp  and  restless 
lip,  the  calm  brow;   and  you  can  believe  — 

"  Sordello  foremost  in  the  regal  class, 
Nature  has  broadly  severed  from  her  mass 
Of  men,  and  framed  for  pleasure." 

"  Who  will  may  hear  Sordello's  story  told, 
And  how  he  never  could  remember  when 
He  dwelt  not  at  Goito." 

To  the  world  he  was  known  only  as  the  orphan  child  of  El  Corte,  an  archer 
who,  soon  after  the  lad's  birth,  in  1 194,  when  the  imperialists  were  driven  out 
of  Vicenza  amid  great  slaughter  and  conflagration,  had  laid  down  his  own  life 
in  saving  his  mistress,  Adelaide,  and  her  new-born  son,  afterward  famous  as 
Ecelin  the  Cruel. 

Calmly  his  youth  glided  away.  Beyond  the  glades  on  the  fir-forest  border, 
and  the  rim  of  the  low  range  of  mountains,  which  looked  toward  Mantua,  was 
for  him  no  other  world.     Over  these  he  wandered  at  pleasure  and  alone. 

The  castle,  too,  seemed  empty.  Far  and  wide  might  he  roam  save  through 
the  northern  wing.  His  only  clew  to  the  world  came  from  some  foreign 
women-servants,  very  old,  who  tended  and  crept  about  him. 


THE  LEGEND   OF  SORDELLO.  291 

And  first  a  simple  sense  of  life  engrossed  him,  —  "  content  as  the  worm  that 
strips  the  trees,  the  day's  adventures  for  the  day  sufficed."  His  whole  life  was 
in  his  fancies.  To  all  he  saw  that  was  lovely,  he  gave  fresh  life  from  his  own 
soul.  His  ruling  desire  was  to  find  something  to  worship,  and  bury  himself  in 
each  external  charm.  No  new  form  of  loveliness  within  to  match  each  one 
without  was  developed. 

"As  the  adventurous  spider,  making  light 
Of  distance,  shoots  her  threads  from  depth  to  height, 
From  barbican  to  battlement :  so  flung 
Fantasies  forth  and  in  their  centre  swung 
Our  architect, —  the  breezy  morning  fresh 
Above,  and  merry,  — all  his  waving  mesh 
Laughing  with  lucid  dew-drops  rainbow-edged.'' 

His  life  was  blended  with  that  of  land,  sea,  flower,  bird,  and  insect.  Springs, 
summers,  and  winters  quietly  came  and  went.  Time  at  length  put  an  end  to 
this  period  of  content.  The  poppy  and  linnet  had  their  day.  Something 
informed  the  boy  that  others  desired  a  portion  in  his  joy.  Where  shall  he  find 
his  public?  Forth  glided  not  only  each  painted  warrior,  every  girl  of  stone, 
and  Adelaide  and  Palma,  upon  whom  he  stumbled  in  the  arrased  glooms,  but 
the  entire  outer-world :  whatever  scraps  and  snatches,  song  and  story,  dreams, 
perhaps,  which  he  had  given  to  flower  and  tree,  were  now  given  to  the  streams 
of  life-like  figures  which  passed  through  his  brain.  Ere  he  could  choose  they 
surrounded  him,  —  lord,  liegeman,  vavasor,  and  suzerain.  He  lived  the  life 
of  each.  As  he  let  his  rough-hewn  bow  of  ash  sink  from  his  aching  wrist,  he 
imagined  that  he  had  sent  a  golden  shaft  hissing  through  the  Syrian  air  to 
strike  down  some  defender  of  Jerusalem  against  the  crusaders.  As  he  picked 
grapes  and  filberts,  he  dreamed  of  himself  as  the  young  emperor  Frederick 
II.,  quaffing  wine  with  the  soldan,  or  looking  at  the  bunch  of  dates  which 
the  titular  king  of  the  Holy  City  sent  his  imperial  son-in-law,  to  remind  him  of 
his  promise  to  reconquer  Palestine. 

He  compared  his  life  with  that  of  the  warriors  on  the  arras.  "  Will  no  career 
open  for  him  also?"  Those  men  are  older;  his  call  is  yet  to  come.  The 
pageant  thinned.  From  futile  boy  attempts  to  emulate  his  heroes  in  reality, 
he  passed  to  imaginary  feats,  in  which  he  excelled  them  all,  and  finds  in  the 
passing  — 

"The  Apollo  in  his  own  soul." 

Time  stole  on.     By  degrees  the  Pythons  perish  off;   his   voteries  sink    to 


292  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

respectful  distance  —  their  dismissals  seem  emphatic  ;  only  girls  are  very  slow 
to  disappear,  —  his  Delians. 

"  Glance  the  bevy  through,  divine  Apollo's  choice,  his  Daphne!" 

He  heard  the  servants  talk  of  how  Palma,  the  daughter  of  Ecelin  and  niece 
of  Este,  had  been  promised  by  her  father  to  the  Guelf  chief,  Count  Richard 
Saint  Boniface,  one  of  the  Capulets  of  Verona;  "but  the  maid  rejects  his  suit," 
those  sleepy  women  said. 

She,  scorning  all  beside,  deserves  the  most  Sordello.  So,  conspicuous  in 
his  world  of  dreams  sat  Palma,  whose  tresses  of  gold  were  like  "  spilt 
sunbeams." 

But  fate  is  tardy  with  the  stage  and  crowd  she  promised.  His  fancies  cease 
to  soothe  him.     The  earnest  smile  is  gone. 

Long  years  of  life  like  this  were  broken  up  by  an  accident,  "  which  opened 
the  veritable  business  of  mankind." 

As  the  first  pink  leaflets  bud  on  the  beech,  and  the  larches  brighten  in  the 
spring  sunshine,  Sordello  goes  forth  buoyantly,  hoping  that  to-day's  venture 
will  secure  his  visioned  lady,  — 

"  Whose  shape  divine, 
Quivered  i'  the  farthest  rainbow-vapor,  glanced 
Athwart  the  flying  herons  ? " 

On  he  goes  through  the  brakes  of  withered  fern  and  over  the  great  morass 
shot  through  and  through  with  flashing  waters,  each  footfall  sending  up  a  dia- 
mond jet.  Still  Palma  seems  floating  on  before  him :  he  thinks  that  when  he 
has  passed  the  next  wood  he  will  hear  her  own  she  loves  him,  —  Boniface  to 
hear,  to  groan,  to  leave  his  suit !  He  clears  the  last  screen  of  pine-trees  before 
Mantua;  and  there,  under  the  walls,  amid  a  gay  crowd  of  men  and  women,  sits 
his  lady,  enthroned  as  the  Queen  of  the  Court  of  Love,  at  which  the  trouba- 
dour Eglamor  contends  for  her  prize  against  all  comers. 

Naddo  strings  a  lute  for  Eglamor,  who  sings  of  Elys.  Sordello's  brain 
swam ;  for  he  knew  a  sometime  deed  again :  many  a  foolish  gap  and  chasm 
does  it  supply.  He  longs  to  speak.  Before  the  people's  frank  applause  was  half 
done,  Sordello  was  beside  him,  spite  of  indignant  twitchings  from  his  friend 
the  trouvere,  singing  "  the  true  lay  with  the  true  end,"  taking  the  other's 
names  and  time  and  place  for  his.  On  flies  the  song  in  a  giddy  race  after 
the  flying  story,  word  making  word  leap  forth,  and  rhyme,  rhyme.  As  he 
closes,  the  people  crowd  around  and  shout,  "  The  prize  !  the  prize  ! " 

He  had  gained  something  then  ;    and  into  a  soft  slumber  would  gladly  have 


SM£3fc'i 1,r" 


'■.    ,/  j1^8S!fc;,,',!.Ht,-:|il| 


THE  LEGEND  OF  SORDELLO.  295 

sunk,  "  but  one  sight  withheld  him."  The  crowd  opens.  He  sees  Adelaide 
sitting  silent,  and  at  her  knees  the  very  maid  of  the  north  chamber. 

With  just  six  words  and  no  more  Palma  laid  the  scarf  upon  him,  warm 
with  her  own  life.     Her  golden  hair  touched  his  cheek. 

He  knew  no  more  till  he  awoke  some  furlongs  off,  at  home,  crowned,  — 
with  that  scarf  about  his  neck,  and  curious  women  kindly  peering  round. 
They  tell  him  that  the  jongleurs,  Naddo,  Squarcialupe,  and  Tagliafer,  had 
brought  him  home,   and  that  Palma  had  chosen  him  for  her  minstrel. 

Sordello,  who  had  hitherto  perceived,  now  began  to  think,  and  naturally 
enough,  of  his  own  poem.     How  had  the  people  come  to  feel  its  beaut}-? 

As  he  pondered  this  question,  sounds  low  and  drear  stole  on  him,  and  a 
noise  of  footsteps  broke  his  revery.  Some  friends  led  by  Naddo  were  carry- 
ing the  body  of  Eglamor  to  the  grave,  a  few  loose  flowers  in  his  hand.  Poor 
Eglamor  had  died  of  sorrow.  He  loved  his  art,  and  stood  faltering  before  it. 
His  new  song  had  been  dear  to  him,  but  he  shouted  for  Sordello  with  the  rest; 
and  bending  to  lay  his  withered  crown  beside  the  fresh  one,  left  tears  and  a 
kiss  upon  the  singer's  hand.  Nay,  he  even  sang,  at  the  careless  bidding  of 
bystanders,  the  'very  song  with  which  Sordello  had  outshone  him ;  then  went 
home.  Friends  used  to  wait  his  coming.  Now  they  were  already  with  the 
rising  star,  the  new  Sordello. 

Weary  and  puzzled  by  his  uncertain  future,  at  length  he  said,  — 

"  '  Best  sleep  now  with  my  scorn, 
And  by  to-morrow  I  devise  some  plain 
Expedient."     So  he  slept,  nor  woke  again." 

They  found  as  much,  those  friends,  who  went  to  gossip  heartlessly  before  him 
of  Sordello's  life  and  song. 

Sordello  laid  his  fresh  crown  upon  the  dead  man's  breast,  and  in  sweet  song 
besought  Nature  still  to  hold  him  dear. 

And  the  prayer  was  answered.  A  plant,  which  bears  a  three-leaved  bell, 
that  ripens  to  its  heart  ere  noon,  "  its  soft,  pure  petals  falling  noiselessly  as  the 
last  breath  of  the  trouvere,"  still  bears  the  name  of  Eglamor. 

Beneath  a  flowering  laurel  thicket,  in  the  sunrise  of  blossoming  and  May, 
Sordello  lay,  wondering  why  the  old  castle  hid  so  the  secret  of  his  birth.  This 
was  the  story  he  knew. 

Years  before,  when  at  Vicenza,  both  her  counts  banished  the  Vivaresi  kith 
and  kin,  those  RIaltraversi  hung  on  the  skirts  of  Ecelin's  army,  reviling  him,  he 
in  anger  set  all  their  homes  on  fire,  forgetting  that  his  wife  was  there.  There 
in  the  flames  did  Adelaide  give  birth  to  Ecelin  the  younger  ;  and  the  mother 


296  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

and  her  babe  were  rescued  from  the  mob  by  a  poor  archer,  named  El  Corte. 
There  was  no  one  left  to  thank,  when  they  thought  of  it  years  later,  but  his 
young  son  Sordello.  This  child  Adelaide  carried  off  to  Goito,  —  a  retreat 
where  she  went  when  times  were  rude,  when  Este  schemed  for  Palma,  or 
Taurello,  who  had  lost  all  his  family  in  those  dreadful  flames,  came  to  the 
Mantuan  court. 

Apollo  vanishes  ;  and  there  remains  a  low-born  youth,  who  has  just  been 
made  his  lady's  minstrel. 

In  the  midst  of  his  musings  a  letter  came  from  Naddo,  praying  him  to  visit 
Mantua,  and  supply  a  famished  world.  "  The  evening  star  was  high  when  he 
reached  Mantua,  but  his  fame  arrived  before  him.' 

But  his  song  soon  turned  to  a  source  of  annoyance  —  'twas  the  song's  effect 
he  cared  for,  scarce  the  song  itself.  He  tried  to  rise  above  the  singers  who 
simply  tell  of  the  forms  they  see  around  them,  and  to  become  a  poet  who, 
through  such  pictures,  reveals  the  loveliness  of  his  own  nature,  so  that  his 
hearers  shall  love  in  him  the  love  that  leads  their  souls  to  perfection.  He 
failed.  His  Juroes  were  on  the  people's  lips,  but  no  one  cared  for  him.  They 
would  not  see  in  Sordello  any  trait  of  his  meanest  hero.  If  he  tried  to  give 
original  ideas,  he  was  blamed  for  being  too  abstruse,  and  not  building  on  the 
common  heart  as  a  bard  should,  —  who  was  no  philosopher.  His  native  Italian 
was  too  crude  for  the  expression  of  his  thoughts.  He  coined  new  words,  but 
they  proved  too  artificial  and  cumbrous.  He  took  less  pains  with  his  verses, 
and  they  gained  less  and  less  applause. 

"  Weeks,  months,  years  went  by ; 
And  lo,  Sordello  vanished  utterly, 
Sundered  in  twain ;  each  spectral  part  at  strife 
With  each  ;  one  jarred  against  another  life  ; 
The  Poet  thwarting  hopelessly  the  Man." 

Meanwhile  the  world  rejoiced  ('tis  time  to  explain),  because  a  sudden  sick- 
ness set  it  free  from  Adelaide.  A  rustle  forth  of  daughters  and  of  sons  black- 
ened the  valley.  Romano  entered  the  cloister,  and  as  he  did  so  proclaimed  a 
truce  between  the  imperialists,  who  had  been  his  partisans,  and  the  adherents 
of  the  pope.  A  letter  from  him  informed  his  friend  Taurello  that  three  wed- 
dings were  to  put  an  end  to  Guelf  and  Ghibelline  strife.  His  two  sons,  Alberic 
and  Ecelin,  are  to  marry  Beatrice  d'Este  and  Giglia  St.  Boniface,  while  Palma  i3 
to  be  given  to  Count  Richard,  as  the  old  rumor  said. 

His  letter  found  Taurello  at  Naples,  sworn  to  sail  next  month  with  the 
emperor  for  Syria.     "  Never  thunder-clap  so  startled  mortal !  "     "I  absent,  and 


THE  LEGEND   OF  SORDELLO.  297 

she  to  die  !  "  exclaimed  Taurello ;  and  half  a  score  of  horses  were  ridden  dead, 
ere  he  stood,  with  reeking  spurs,  before  Romano  at  Vicenza. 

"Too  late,"  the  chieftain  stammered.  "Boniface  urged  me;  Este  would 
not  wait.  Forgive  !  As  you  found  me  first,  so  leave  me  now.  You  have  my 
Palma.     Retain  that  lure  —  only  be  pacified  !  " 

To  Mantua,  Taurello  hastened  for  Palma ;  and  ere  he  reached  the  city,  Sor- 
dello  was  chosen  to  greet  the  triumphal  entrance  into  Mantua  of  the  famous 
Ghibelline  soldier  with  his  song. 

"  '  Take  a  friend's  advice,' 
Quoth  Naddo  to  Sordello,  '  nor  be  rash 
Because  your  rivals  (nothing  can  abash 
Some  folks)  demur  that  we  pronounced  you  best 
To  sound  the  great  man's  welcome ;  't  is  a  test. 
Remember  !     Strojavacca  looks  asquint.  — 
The  rough  fat  sloven  ;  and  there  's  plenty  hint 
Your  pinions  have  received  of  late  a  shock  — 
Outsoar  them,  cobswan  of  the  silver  flock : 
Sing  well ! '  " 

Fast  the  minutes  flit ;  vainly  Sordello  seeks  for  inspiration.  Another  day 
will  bring  the  soldier,  and  he  cannot  choose  but  sing.  So,  a  last  shift,  he  quits 
Mantua,  —  slow,  alone.     Out  of  that  aching  brain,  —  a  very  stone,  —  song  must 

be  struck. 

"And  thus  he  wandered,  dumb 
Till  evening,  when  he  paused,  thoroughly  spent, 
On  a  blind  hill-top :  down  the  gorge  he  went, 
Yielding  himself  up  as  to  an  embrace. 
The  moon  came  out ;  like  features  of  a  face, 
A  querulous  fraternity  of  pines, 

Sad  blackthorn  clumps,  leafless  and  grovelling  vines 
Also  came  out,  made  gradually  up 
The  picture;  'twas  Goito's  mountain-cup 
And  castle." 

Back  rushed  the  dreams  of  old,  enwrapping  him  wholly.  'Twas  Apollo  now 
the}-  lapped,  those  mountains,  not  a  pettish  minstrel  meant  to  wear  his  soul 
away  in  discontent,  brooding  on  fortune's  malice.  Heart  and  brain  swelled  ;  he 
expanded  to  himself  again.  The  slim  castle  had  dwindled  of  late  years,  —  gone 
to  ruin,  —  trails  of  vine  through  every  loop-hole.  Nought  avails  the  night  as, 
torch  in  hand,  he  must  explore  the  maple  chamber.  "  Palma  was  gone  that 
da)',"  said  the  remaining  women.  Last,  he  lay  beside  the  Carian  group  re- 
served and  still. 


298  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

'•The  Body,  the  Machine  for  Acting  Will. 
Had  been  at  the  commencement  proved  unfit; 
That  for  Demonstrating,  Reflecting  it, 
Mankind  —  no  fitter:  was  the  Will  itself 
In  fault?" 

His  forehead  pressed  the  moonlit  shelf  beside  the  youngest  marble  maid 
awhile;  then,  raising  it,  he  thought,  with  a  long  smile,  "  I  shall  be  king  again  !  " 
as  he  withdrew  the  envied  scarf;    into  the  font  he  threw  his  crown. 

"  •  Next  day,  no  poet !     Wherefore  ?  '  asked 
Taurello,  when  the  dance  of  Jongleurs,  masked 
As  devils,  ended  ;  '  don't  a  song  come  next  ?  ' 
The  master  of  the  pageant  looked  perplexed 
Till  Naddo's  whisper  came  to  his  relief. 
'His  Highness  knew  what  poets  were:  in  brief, 
Had  not  the  tetchy  race  prescriptive  right 
To  peevishness,  caprice  ?  or,  call  it  spite. 
One  must  receive  their  nature  in  its  length 
And  breadth,  expect  the  weakness  with  the  strength.' 
So  phrasing,  till,  his  stock  of  phrases  spent, 
The  easy-natured  soldier  smiled  assent, 
Settled  his  portly  person,  smoothed  his  chin, 
And  nodded  that  the  bull-bait  might  begin.' 

And  the  font  took  Sordello's  laurels;  let  them  lie.  A  dream  is  o'er,  and 
the  suspended  life  begins  anew.  Over  a  sweet  and  solitary  year  is  wasted  in 
the  lonely  castle.  One  declining  autumn  day  he  sauntered  home  complacently, 
their  moods  according,  —  his  and  Nature's.  Ever)' spark  of  Mantuan  life  was 
trodden  out.  Harsh  the  earth's  remonstrance  followed.  'T  was  the  marsh  gone 
of  a  sudden.  Mincio  in  its  place  laughed,  a  broad  water,  in  next  morning's 
face.     And  here  was  Nature,  bound  by  the  same  bars  of  fate  with  him  ! 

"  No  !  youth  once  gone  is  gone  : 
Deeds  let  escape  are  never  to  be  done. 
Leaf-fall  and  grass-spring  for  the  year;  for  us  — 
Oh,  forfeit  I  unalterably  thus 
My  chance  ?  nor  two  lives  wait  me,  this  to  spend 
Learning  save  that?     Nature  has  time,  may  mend 
Mistake,  she  knows  occasion  will  recur; 
Landslip  or  sea-breach,  how  affects  it  her 
With  her  magificent  resources? —  I 
Must  perish  once  and  perish  utterly. 


Ay,  happiness 

Awaited  me ;  the  way  life  should  be  used 


THE   LEGEND   OF  SORDELLO.  299 

Was  to  acquire,  and  deeds  like  you  conduced 
To  teach  it  by  a  self-reveal ment,  deemed 
The  very  use,  so  long  !     Whatever  seemed 
Progress  to  that,  was  pleasure ;  aught  that  stayed 
My  reaching  it  —  no  pleasure.      I  have  laid 
The  ladder  down  ;   I  climb  not ;  still,  aloft 
The  platform  stretches !     Blisses  strong  and  soft, 
I  dared  not  entertain,  elude  me ;  yet 
Never  of  what  they  promised  could  I  get 
A  glimpse  till  now  ! 


•  I  die  then  !     Will  the  rest  agree  to  die  ? 
Next  Age  or  no?     Shall  its  Sordello  try 
Clue  after  clue,  and  catch  at  last  the  clue 
I  miss  ? 

:  Why  fled  I  Mantua,  then?  —  complained 
So  much  my  will  was  fettered,  yet  remained 
Content  within  a  tether  half  the  range 
I  could  assign  it?  " 


"  Palma  sent  your  trouvere  "  (Naddo,  interposing,  leaned  over  the  lost  bard's 
shoulder),  —  "and,  I  believe,  you  cannot  more  reluctantly  receive  than  I  pro- 
nounce her  message :  we  depart  together.  What  avail  a  poet's  heart  Verona's 
pomps  and  gauds?  five  blades  of  grass  suffice  him.  News?  Why  know  you 
not  the  world's  tidings?  " 

Then  was  told  the  tale  from  the  beginning :  how  Taurello  found  in  Palma 
a  kindred  spirit,  and  they  secretly  agreed  to  postpone  the  marriage  as  long  as 
possible,  and  the  first  pretext  for  a  rupture  promptly  seized ;  how  Palma  still 
delayed  her  journey  to  Verona,  where  she  had  promised  to  marry  the  count 
in  his  palace;  how,  made  bold  by  Salinguerra's  absence,  the  Guelfs  had 
burned  and  pillaged  till  he  unawares  returned  to  take  revenge,  setting  street 
after  street  on  fire,  and  riding  in  blood  to  his  horse's  fetlocks;  and  how 
Count  Richard  hastened  with  his  friend  Azo,  Marquis  of  Este,  and  other 
leading  Guelfs  to  drive  Salinguerra  out  of  Ferrara,  but  permitted  himself  to 
be  decoyed  to  a  parley,  at  which  he  was  treacherously  taken  prisoner;  how 
the  whole  Lombard  League  of  nearly  twenty  cities,  that  took  the  side  of  the 
popes  against  the  emperors,  rose  in  arms  to  deliver  him  from  Salinguerra, 
who  strengthened  himself  at  Ferrara  with  great  bands  of  mercenaries. 

"And  they  want  you  doubtless  to  contrive  the  marriage-chant  ere  Richard 
storms  Ferrara,"  Naddo  added. 

Sordello  rose,  a  new  man,  to  seek  the  world  once  more. 

It  was  the  autumn  of   1224  when  Sordello,  now  thirty  years  old,  hastened 


300  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

to  join  Palma  at  Verona.  She  had  timed  her  journey  so  cunningly  as  to 
arrive  just  after  Richard's  departure,  and  thus  gain  a  plausible  pretext  for 
charging  him  with  breach  of  faith. 

Sordello  reached  the  city  while  "a  last  remains  of  sunset  dimly  burned 
o'er  the  far  forests."  'T  is  many  years  and  more  since  that  autumn  eve  in 
Verona.  The  second  Friedrich  wore  the  purple,  and  the  third  Honorius 
filled  the  holy  chair.  "A  single  eye  from  all  Verona  cared  for  the  soft  sky." 
Trumpets  were  pealing  and  alarm-bells  booming.  The  Carroccio  —  a  car 
which  carried  the  city's  standard,  the  crucifix,  and  a  great  bell  into  battle  — 
was  being  dragged  into  the  market-place,  where  the  people  were  crowded, 
listening  to  the  fiery  speeches  of  their  magistrates,  and  eager  to  march 
against  Salinguerra  and  show  that  Verona  was  no  unworthy  member  of  the 
great  league. 

In  the  count's  palace  was  a  dim  closet,  which  overlooked  this  tumult;  and 
there  Sordello  and  Palma  sat  with  fingers  interlocked,  while  she  told  him, 
with  a  coy,  fastidious  grace, 

'•  Like  the  bird's  flutter  ere  it  fix  and  feed," 
How  she  had  longed  for  some  out-soul,  which  should  direct  all  the  force  that 
was  expanding  within  her;  and  how  she  had  accepted  him  as  her  lord  ever 
since  that  spring  morning  when  his  face,  not  unknown  to  her,  burst  out  from 
all  the  other  faces  at  the  Love  Court. 

"  I  was  vainly  planning  how  to  make  you  mine,"  she  says,  "when 
Salinguerra  showed  me  how  to  break  loose  from  Count  Richard  and  the 
Guelfs.  My  father  and  brother  have  given  up  the  leadership  of  the  Lombard 
Ghibellines,  the  best  part  of  our  inheritance.  You  and  I  will  take  the  vacant 
place.  To-morrow  morning,  disguised  in  some  gay  weed,  like  yours,  we  will 
flee  to  Ferrara.  Let  Taurello's  noble  accent  teach  the  rest.  Then  say  if  I  have 
misconceived  your  destiny,  too  readily  believed  the  Kaiser's  cause  your  own. " 

And  Palma  fled  before  Sordello,  dumb  with  joy  at  the  prospect  of  becom- 
ing a  king,  and  thus  embodying  his  own  will  in  this  "aggregate  of  souls  and 
bodies"  as  he  had  dreamed  of  doing,  could  express  his  rapture  at  the  knowledge 
of  her  love. 

Meantime  Ferrara  lay  in  rueful  state ;  the  lady-city,  for  whose  sole 
embrace  her  pair  of  suitors  struggled,  felt  their  arms  a  brawny  mischief  to  the 
fragile  charms  they  tugged  for. 

A  young  Guelf  was  mourning  at  the  sight  of  a  shrivelled  hand  nailed  to 
the  charred  lintel  of  the  doorway,  within  which  he  had  seen  his  father  stand, 
bidding  him  farewell. 

An  old  Ghibelline  howled  over  a  little  skull  with  dazzling  teeth,  which 
he  had  dug  up  in  the  heap  of  rubbish  where  his  house  was  burned. 


THE    TOWER    OF    ST.    MARKS. 


THE  LEGEND   OF  SORDELLO.  303 

A  deserter  from  Salinguerra  came  back  to  find  his  palace  razed  so  adroitly, 
that  he  did  not  know  the  spot,  but  sat  on  the  edge  of  a  choked-up  tank 
ploughing  the  mud  inside  with  his  feet  and  singing  the  song  with  which  the 
Ecelins  rode  into  battle,  until  one  fierce  kick  brought  up  his  mother's  face, 
caught  by  the  thick  gray  hair  about  his  spur. 

Another  Ghibelline  had  murdered  his  brother.  A  woman  of  Ferrara 
offered  to  sell  her  own  daughters  to  Sordello ;  and  he  heard  Salinguerra 
boasting  of  burning  hostages  alive. 

The  sight  of  all  this  suffering  led  our  hero  up  from  dreaming  of  ruling 
men  to  aspiring  to  serve  them.  He  confessed  to  Palma,  as  they  talked  that 
night  alone  beside  a  smouldering  watch-fire,  his  unwillingness  to  join  the 
Ghibellines.  She  urged  that  the  Guelfs  were  just  as  cruel;  but  he  longed  to 
find  some  better  way  than  that  pursued  by  either  faction. 

One  of  the  sentinels  came  up,  and  bade  him  sing  of  Rome.  To  Sordello 
Rome  was  the  point  of  light  from  which  rays  traversed  all  the  world.  In  her 
he  saw  embodied  a  plan  to  put  mankind  in  full  possession  of  all  their  rights. 
Visions  of  her  laws  and  her  new  structures  crowded  upon  him. 

He  knew  how  zealously  the  popes  and  bishops  had  taken  the  part  of  the 
Lombard  cities,  and  defended  them  from  the  emperors  and  nobles.  This 
cause  seemed  that  of  the  people  against  the  princes,  and  of  the  future  against 
the  past.  He  faltered  as  he  remembered  how  slowly  Rome  was  built;  his 
courage  returned  as  he  remembered  how  rapidly  Hildebrand  built  up  the 
papal  power,  and  how  mightily  his  successors  labored  in  the  crusades,  — 
"almost  dispensing  with  the  truce  of  God."  At  last  he  resolved  to  imitate 
these  great  workers,  and  to  begin  by  making  a  convert  of  Salinguerra. 

"  Is  it  the  same  Sordello  in  the  dusk 
As  at  the  dawn?  " 

Just  before  sunset  he  found  the  old  warrior  sitting  with  Palma  in  his  own 
dreary  palace.  He  had  been  giving  audience  to  the  emperor's  envoy,  the 
pope's  legate,  and  the  league's  ambassadors,  and  was  now  complacently 
planning  his  next  move,  and  considering  what  use  he  should  make  of  the  new 
badge  of  authority  just  sent  him  by  the  emperor.  After  sixty  years  of 
fighting  he  was  still  young,  — 

"  So  agile,  quick,  and  graceful  turned 
The  head  on  the  broad  chest.'' 

But  thirty  years  of  idle  dreaming  had  left  Sordello  stunted  and  worn  out, 
—  the  shadow  of  a  man.      He  stammered,    and  was  so  awkward  and  bashful 


304  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS   ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

that  his  speech  at  first  only  deserved  scoff.  Salinguerra,  a  master  of  the 
right  words  in  the  right  places,  listened  with  good-natured  contempt  to  one 
whom  he  knew  only  as  an  archer's  orphan  son  and  Palma's  too  much  favored 
minstrel.  Indeed,  the  Ghibelline  veteran  showed  such  scorn  of  the  advice  to 
release  his  prisoner,  open  his  gates  to  the  league,  and  turn  Guelf  himself, 
that  Sordello  was  moved  to  eloquence.  He  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  people, 
whose  faces  he  saw  filling  the  dim  chamber,  so  powerfully,  that  Salinguerra 
began  to  admire  him,  and  at  last  determined  to  make  him  his  ally.  Suddenly 
he  flung  the  emperor's  badge  around  the  orator's  neck,  and  welcomed  him  as 
Palma's  husband,  head  of  the  Romano  family,  and  leader  of  the  Lombard 
Ghibellines. 

And  now  springs  to  light  a  secret  which  Palma  had  heard  from  her  dying 
step-mother,  namely,  that  Salinguerra's  wife  and  child,  who  were  supposed  to 
have  perished  in  that  Vicenza  massacre,  had  both  been  rescued,  and  the  son 
was  living  under  the  name  of  Sordello. 

Sordello  sat  pale  and  silent ;  but  his  father  laughed  with  joy  as  he  told  how 
the  emperor  was  going  to  destroy  the  papal  power  and  place  all  Lombardy 
under  a  prefect,  whom  he  himself  had  leave  to  name.  His  son  must  take 
this  office,  in  virtual  independence  of  Frederick  himself.  So  he  ran  on,  until 
Palma  drew  his  iron  arms  away  from  the  shrinking  shoulders  of  his  son,  who 
rose,  tried  to  speak,  and  then  sank  back.  In  order  to  give  him  time  to 
recover,  she  led  the  father,  who  staggered,  in  his  joyful  excitement,  down  the 
narrow  stairs  into  a  dim  corridor,  lighted  only  by  a  grating,  which  showed  in 
the  west  one  ragged  jet  of  fierce  gold  fire.  There  he  sat  down  on  a  stone 
bench,  while  Palma  sang  her  lover's  poems,  and  told  him  how  the  world 
loved  him,  and  thought  his  wan  face  eclipsed  even  that  of  Count  Richard's. 
Salinguerra  drank  in  every  word ;  and  as  she  finished,  — 

"  He  drew  her  on  his  mailed  knees,  made 
Her  face  a  framework  with  his  hands,  a  shade, 
A  crown,  an  aureole  :  there  must  she  remain 
(Her  little  mouth  compressed  with  smiling  pain 
As  in  his  gloves  she  felt  her  tresses  twitch) 
To  get  the  best  look  at,  in  fittest  niche 
Dispose  his  saint.     That  done,  he  kissed  her  brow." 

Then  began  schemes  with  a  vengeance,  schemes  on  schemes,  —  "  not  one  fit 
to  be  told  that  foolish  boy,"  he  said.     "But  only  let  Sordello  Palma  wed. 
Then  —  " 

Above  the  passage  suddenly  a  sound  stops  speech,  stops  walk. 


THE  LEGEXD   OF  SORDELLO.  305 

"  'T  is  his  own  foot-stamp;  —  your  hand;  his  summons!"  Out  they  two 
reeled  dizzily. 

Sordello  sat  gazing  at  the  river,  while  eve  slow  sank  down  the  near  terrace 
to  the  farther  bank,  and  only  one  spot  left  out  of  the  night  glimmered  upon 
the  river  opposite,  —  a  breath  of  watery  heaven  like  a  bay,  a  sky-like  space  of 
water,  ray  for  ray,  and  star  for  star,  one  richness  where  they  mixed  as  this 
and  that  wing  of  an  angel,  fixed,  tumultuary  splendors  folded  in  to  die. 
Yonder  the  slow  moon  to  complete  heaven  rose  again ;  and  naked  at  his 
feet,  lighted  his  old  life's  every  shift  and  change,  effort  with  counter-effort. 
He  had  needed  some  steady  purpose  to  uplift  his  soul,  as  the  moon  sways  the 
ocean.  Others  made  pretence  to  strength  not  half  his  own ;  yet  had  some 
core  within,  submitted  to  some  moon,  and  were  able  therefore  to  fulfil  a 
course,  while  he  had  missed   life's  crown. 

He  would  fain  serve  the  people;  but  really  doing  it  seemed  so  doubtful  that 
he  was  sorely  tempted  to  accept  the  crown  his  father  offered  him,  and  live 
only  for  present  pleasures,  leaving  the  future  out  of  sight.  He  thought  of 
the  sages,  champions,  martyrs,  who  dashed  aside  the  cup  of  pleasure,  and  so 
gained  the  better  life  which  this  conceals.  His  mental  struggle  was  fierce. 
He  would  dash  this  badge,  and  all  it  brought,  to  earth.  He  will  think 
once  more,  however.  With  his  last  remaining  strength  he  stamped  on  the 
emperor's  badge,  — his  great  temptation. 

Dash  the  veil  aside,  and  you  divine  who  sat  there  dead,  — 

"  Under  his  foot  the  badge  :  still,  Paima  said, 
A  triumph  lingering  in  the  wide  eyes, 
Wider  than  some  spent  swimmer's  if  he  spies, 
Help  from  above  in  his  extreme  despair, 
And.  head  far  back  on  shoulder  thrust,  turns  there 
With  short,  quick  passionate  cry  :  as  Palma  pressed 
In  one  great  kiss,  her  lips  upon  his  breast. 
It  beat.'' 

They  laid  him  beside  his  mother  in  the  stone  font  he  loved.  Nothing 
now  remains  of  him  but  a  name  in  the  Mantuan  chronicles  and  a  few  verses 
still  sung  at  Asolo. 

"A  nature  of  magnificent  possibilities,  whose  work  for  the  world  was  lost, 
though  he  himself  was  saved,  just  for  the  want  of  a  love  divine  enough  to 
inspire,  human  enough  to  direct  and  control  its  service  for  the  world," — a 
life  ending  at  the  point  and  with  the  same  hopes  with  which  it  started. 

Is  there  no  more  to  say? 

"  In  the  bright  summer  morninsr,  while  the  lark  sinsrs,  mounting  heaven- 


306  ZIGZAG  JOURNEYS  OiX  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

ward  above  the  castle-walls,  a  merry  boy  brushes  the  clew  from  the  grass  as 
he  passes,  and  glad  at  heart  he  sings, —his  song  one  fragment  of  the  old 
Goito  lay,  that  spoke  the  praise  of  Elys." 

"Who  would  has  heard  Sordello's  story  told,"  in  the  hope  that  it  may 
help  — 

"  Some  souls  see  All 
—  The  Great  Before  and  After,  and  the  Small, 
Now,  yet  be  saved  by  this  the  simplest  lore." 

"  My  life  will  not  be  ruined  by  vanity,"  said  Percy.  "  I  never  could 
have  analyzed  the  poem  like  that ;  it  takes  a  girl  to  find  out  the 
mysteries   of  the  poets." 

The  charm  of  the  afternoons  and  evenings  at  Naples,  especially 
in  a  villa  overlooking  the  bay,  cannot  be  well  described.  It  exists  in 
the  purple  air,  the  gardens,  and  the  sea.  The  gardens  are  sweet  with 
orange  and  lemon  trees,  cool  with  the  green  olives,  and  everywhere 
bright  with  flowers. 

Afar  lies  Capri,  some  twenty  miles  distant,  —  a  garden  of  the  sea, 
with  mountains  and  rocks.  It  commands,  with  the  city  of  Naples  and 
Vesuvius,  one  of  the  most  enchanting  scenes  on  earth.  Only  eleven 
miles  in  circumference,  it  has  a  population  of  some  six  thousand  souls. 

It  is,  as  it  were,  a  mountain  peak  in  the  sea,  and  it  has  an  elevation 
of  nearly  two  thousand  feet. 

The  old  Roman  emperors  loved  it  for  its  beauty,  and  the  ruins  of 
their  aqueducts,  gardens,  and  villas  are  still  seen.  Tiberius  lived 
here  in  his  wickedness.  The  remains  of  the  twelve  palaces  that  he 
built  to  the  twelve  deities  are  shown,  as  though  the  building  of  tem- 
ples were  a  compensation  for  a  cruel,  dissolute,  and  ruinous  life. 

Vesuvius  slumbers  over  all  the  calm  sea  and  serene  hills.  It  is  a 
long  time  since  he  awoke  in  his  power.  Solitary  and  majestic,  he 
arises  from  the  plain  of  Campania,  having  a  circumference  of  thirty 
miles,  and  some  four  thousand  feet  high. 

It  lost  some  of  its  height  and  beauty  in  the  great  eruption  of  1822,. 
when  some  eight  hundred  feet  disappeared. 


VESUVIUS.  —  BAY  OF  XAPLES.  307 

Vesuvius  was  not  suspected  of  being  a  volcano  until  near  the 
time  of  the  destruction  of  Pompeii.  Its  sides  up  to  that  time  were 
covered  with  vines,  and  on  its  top  was  a  lake.  Here  was  the  strong- 
hold of  Spartacus,  the  gladiator. 

It  buried  Pompeii  under  twenty  feet  of  ashes. 

The  eruption  of  Vesuvius  in  1779  was  most  remarkable.  The 
clouds  of  smoke  arose  to  a  height  four  times  that  of  the  mountain,  and 
the  streams  of  fire  were  two  miles  high.  A  single  mass  of  rock  that 
was  ejected  was  more  than  one  hundred  feet  in  circumference  and 
seventeen  feet  high.     The  last  great  eruption  was  in  April,  1S72. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE    WHITE-BORDERED    FLAG 


R.  VAN  DER  PALM  and  Percy  bade  adieu  to  Mr. 
Ware  at  Naples  early  in  autumn,  and  took  up  their 
residence  in  Rome,  intending  to  pass  the  winter 
there.  Here  they  beheld  in  the  holiday  week  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  festivals  in  the  world. 

In  Rome  Mr.  Van  cler  Palm  was  introduced  to 
some  of  the  most  progressive  minds  of  Italy,  and  became  a  member 
of  one  of  the  many  Peace  Societies  in  Italy,  which  were  composed 
partly  of  Italians  and  partly  of  Englishmen  living  in  Rome  and 
other  art  cities.  In  no  country  has  the  Peace  movement  and  the  new 
education  of   Peace  made  a  deeper  impression  than  in  Italy. 

While  in  Rome  he  was  made  a  delegate  in  America  to  one  of  the 
great  Peace  Congresses  that  was  to  be  held  in  the  city.  It  was  to 
number  leading  men  from  England,  France,  Germany,  and  the  United 
States. 

The  Pan-American  Congress,  of  which  Mr.  Blaine  had  been  the  in- 
spiring spirit,  had  discussed  the  union  of  all  republics  in  one  grand 
treaty  to  settle  all  their  international  difficulties  by  arbitration.  Some 
of  the  delegates  had  suggested  that  those  nations  who  would  enter 
into  such  an  agreement  should  border  their  flags  with  white.  The 
Human  Liberty  League,  which  became  a  voice  of  the  Pan-American 
Congress  after  the  latter  had  dissolved,  has  favored  this  idea,  and 
their  societies  have  done  a  good  educational  work. 

It  was  at  this  Italian  Peace  Congress  that  the  first  white-bordered 
flag  was  shown.     The  display  of  the   new  flag,  which   was   the  Stars 


THE    WHITE-BORDERED   ELAG. 


and  Stripes,  was  followed  by  a  very  dramatic  incident.  The  speaker 
threw  the  flag  back  over  a  statue  near  him,  not  knowing  probably 
what  the  statue  was  intended  to  represent.  It  was  the  statue  of  the 
Gladiator.     The   audience    hailed    the    picture    of   the    statue    of    the 


NATIONAL    VILLA,    NAPLES. 


Gladiator  covered  with  the   American  flag  wearing  the  white  border 
of  peace  as  a  happy  omen. 

At  one  of  the  receptions  given  to  this  Peace  Congress  by  the 
women  of  Rome,  Mr.  Van  der  Palm  gave  an  address.  It  was  well 
received,  and  we  give  a  part  of  it  here.  His  subject  was,  "  The  New 
Education  of  Peace." 


312  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 


THE  NEW  EDUCATION  OF  PEACE. 

We  are  standing  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  age,  which  is  preparing  to 
receive  new  influences.  The  supreme  century  of  the  world  is  now  rising 
before  us.  In  that  century  education  will  be  peace,  and  the  kingdom  of  the 
new  education  is  passing  over  to  the  control  of  women.  The  world  has  waited 
this  humanizing  and  pacific  influence  through  all  the  generations.  It  was  of 
such  an  era  that  Virgil  in  his  "  Pollio  "  sung.  To  women  is  coming  the  trust  of 
the  education  of  the  new  arts  of  peace. 

The  beginnings  of  this  new  education  for  peace  are  seen  everywhere,  but 
they  await  a  noble  leadership.  The  educational  systems  of  Frcebel  and 
Pestalozzi  are  superseding  old  forms;  and  the  ideas  of  these  educators  were 
that  education  stood  not  for  the  arts  of  money-making,  but  for  character  and 
for  the  whole  of  life,  and  that  in  true  character  was  the  harmony  of  the  world. 
The  crowning  of  the  names  of  the  martyrs  of  liberty  and  human  progress  is  a 
part  of  this  new  peace  education.  Every  monument  that  rises  for  virtue 
enriches  life.  The  setting  of  the  flag  in  the  skies  over  every  home  and 
school-room  and  church,  as  the  French  place  "  liberty,  equality,  and  frater- 
nity" everywhere,  is  a  part  of  this  pacific  work  of  education.  The  village 
improvement  societies,  the  thousand  societies  for  human  improvement,  are 
all  companies  waiting  to  join  the  grand  army  whose  final  march  is  unity  and 
peace.  Poetry  is  singing  the  Song  of  Peace;  art  awaits  the  new  impulse; 
and  science  in  her  mighty  progress  is  a  friend  of  man  and  a  missionary  of 
humanity.  The  world  awaits  the  deeper  meanings  of  the  teachings  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  best  of  all  ages  is  now;  and  better  is  to  come; 
and  the  strength  of  this  new  peace  education  by  women  will  be  the  strength 
of  our  republic. 

A  generation  ago  there  arose  on  the  peaceful  shores  of  the  Connecticut, 
above  the  green  valley  and  elm-shaded  streets,  a  mighty  arsenal.  Charles 
Sumner,  in  his  oration  on  the  "True  Grandeur  of  Nations,"  which  Cobden 
pronounced  the  greatest  contribution  that  human  scholarship  had  ever  made 
to  the  cause  of  peace,  said  that  the  arsenal  at  Springfield  was  chiefly  useful 
in  that  it  had  inspired  an  immortal  song  whose  voice  was  for  peace.  That 
song  was  written  by  Longfellow,  the  poet  of  hope,  home,  and  history,  who, 
because  he  felt  most  deeply  for  humanity,  will  outlive  his  brother  singers  in 
the  sympathies  of  time.  Entering  the  arsenal  one  day  in  his  early  life,  these 
thoughts  came  crowding  upon  him :  — 


THE    WHITE-BORDERED  FLAG.  313 

This  is  the  Arsenal.     From  floor  to  ceiling, 

Like  a  huge  organ,  rise  the  burnished  arms; 
But  from  their  silent  pipes  no  anthem  pealing 

Startles  the  villages  with  strange  alarms. 

Ah  !  what  a  sound  will  rise,  how  wild  and  dreary, 
When  the  death-angel  touches  those  swift  keys! 

What  loud  lament  and  dismal  Miserere 
Will  mingle  with  their  awful  symphonies  ! 

I  hear  even  now  the  infinite  fierce  chorus, 

The  cries  of  agony,  the  endless  groan, 
Which,  through  the  ages  that  have  gone  before  us, 

In  long  reverberations  reach  our  own. 

Is  it,  O  man,  with  such  discordant  noises, 

With  such  accursed  instruments  as  these, 
Thou  drownest  Nature's  sweet  and  kindly  voices, 

And  jarrest  the  celestial  harmonies? 

Were  half  the  power  that  fills  the  world  with  terror, 
Were  half  the  wealth  bestowed  on  camps  and  courts, 

Given  to  redeem  the  human  mind  from  error, 
There  were  no  need  of  arsenals  or  forts : 

The  warrior's  name  would  be  a  name  abhorred ! 

And  every  nation,  that  should  lift  again 
Its  hand  against  a  brother,  on  its  forehead 

Would  wear  forevermore  the  curse  of  Cain ! 

Down  the  dark  future,  through  long  generations, 
The  echoing  sounds  grow  fainter  and  then  cease; 

And  like  a  bell,  with  solemn,  sweet  vibrations. 

I  hear  once  more  the  voice  of  Christ  say,  "  Peace  ! " 

Peace  !  and  no  longer  from  its  brazen  portals 

The  blast  of  War's  great  organ  shakes  the  skies  ! 

But  beautiful  as  songs  of  the  immortals, 
The  holy  melodies  of  love  arise. 

War  came;  and  humanity  and  justice  demanded  that  the  arsenal  at  Spring- 
field should  pour  forth  its  arms  on  another  contest  that  was  to  lead  the  world 
on  to  peace.  But  the  peace  principles  of  Sumner,  Longfellow,  Cobden, 
Bright,  Lucretia  Mott,  and  Harriet  Martineau,  whose  statue  once  stood  in 
this  church,  remained  the  same.  At  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago  there  is  to 
assemble  in  August  the  most  glorious  Peace  meeting  this  world  has  seen 
since  the  disciples  sat  down  to  listen  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.      To  this 


314  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

cause  humanity  calls  women;  and  of  all  women,  the  daughters  of  Rome 
should  lead  in  this  movement,  and  hasten  the  day  when  the  work  of  their  great 
ancestors  shall  yield  its  ultimate  and  eternal  harvest. 

Rome  celebrated  her  Seculums,  and  Horace  sang  his  "Carmen  Seculare. " 
Arches  arose,  but  they  were  arches  of  war.  Captive  kings  and  queens 
grovelled  in  their  chains  at  chariot  wheels.  Caesar  celebrated  the  conquest 
of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  in  a  single  triumph.  At  the  Seculums  the 
heralds  marched  down  the  Appian  Way,  and  the  trumpets  rang  with  the 
exultant  but  solemn  words :  "  Come,  see  ye  a  day  that  no  man  ever  before 
saw,  and  that  no  man  living  will  ever  see  again."  There  was  a  different 
triumph  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  a  few  days  ago.  The  East  had  wedded 
in  bonds  of  iron  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Arches  arose,  but  they  were  crowned 
with  grain;  chariots  moved  through  the  streets,  but  they  were  the  cars  of 
human  progress.      It  was  Peace  education. 

Men  die,  but  institutions  continue,  and  the  spirit  of  one  generation  grows 
into  another.  The  pilot  of  the  "  Argo  "  may  come  not  again,  but  the  Argo  will 
ever  return  with  the  golden  fleece.  The  new  age  tends  to  unity  of  humanity; 
and  woman's  patriotic  mission  is  the  education  of  all  the  arts  of  peace,  — 
character  education  for  the  whole  of  life.  The  time  has  come  to  repeat 
Garrison's  words  with  new  meaning:  "My  country  is  the  world,  and  my 
countrymen  are  all  mankind."  Over  the  steel-blue  waters  of  Plymouth, 
Mass.,  in  my  own  land,  rises  the  faith  monument,  — an  eternal  teacher.  At 
the  other  end  of  the  continent,  in  Buenos  Ayres,  rises  the  white  peace  monu- 
ment of  San  Martin,  the  real  liberator  of  South  America.  Having  won  the 
freedom  of  Argentine  and  Chili  and  Peru,  he  said  to  the  three  nations  that 
offered  him  their  highest  places  and  honors :  "The  presence  of  a  fortunate 
general,  no  matter  how  disinterested  he  may  be,  in  the  country  where  he  has 
won  victories,  is  detrimental  to  the  state.  I  have  achieved  the  independence 
of  Peru.  I  have  ceased  to  be  a  public  man.  "  He  marched  down  the  Andes, 
where  his  armies  had  put  to  flight  the  condors  for  the  last  time.  He  did  not 
return  like  Cincinnatus  to  his  plough,  or  like  Washington  to  his  home,  for  the 
good  of  the  republic.  He  went  into  voluntary  exile;  and  after  thirty  years 
of  silence  for  the  sake  of  the  peace  of  his  country,  he  died  in  Boulogne. 

His  country  wished  to  bring  home  his  body,  and  crown  him  dead.  Grand 
was  that  day  when  Buenos  Ayres  received  the  dead  body  of  her  hero.  They 
had  built  for  him  a  tomb ;  it  represented  not  the  battle  of  Maypu,  nor  what 
he  did  in  war,  but  what  he  did  for  peace.  The  angels  of  human  progress 
were  those  that  the  sculptor  made  to  guard  his  tomb. 

From  the  Faith  Monument  near  Plymouth  Rock  to  the  marble  angels  of 


THE    WHITE-BORDERED   FLAG.  31  5 

peace  in  Buenos  Ayres  is  a  mighty  arch  of  the  republics  of  liberty.  Pro- 
gress is  marching  beneath  it  under  the  northern  constellations  and  the 
southern  Cross.  The  republics  await  the  new  education  of  peace,  that  will 
crown  the  work  of  all  their  heroes,  —  Washington,  Bolivar,  Juarez,  and  San 
Martin.  To  this  work  the  daughters  of  the  patriots  of  all  lands  may  well 
give  their  hearts  and  hands,  as  the  women  of  Venezuela  drew  into  Caracas 
the  chariot  of  Bolivar.  Heaven  awaits  the  consummation.  "Lift  up  your 
heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of 
Glory  shall  come  in  !  "  The  greatest  work  of  the  world  awaits  the  patriotism 
of  women,  the  work  that  shall  place  the  brightest  crown  of  all  on  the 
achievements  of  all  heroes,  —  the  new  Education  of  Peace. 

The  armies  of  war  began  their  march  to  the  west  from  Rome.  So 
ma)'  it  be  with  armies  of  peace.  Out  of  Rome  women  led  the  way  of 
the  heroes  of  old.  So  may  it  be  now.  So  as  we  saw  in  yonder  hall, 
may  the  white-bordered  flag  cover  the  gladiators  of  every  land,  till  a 
new  race  shall  possess  the  earth,  whose  only  struggle  will  be  to  make 
power  of  themselves  by  the  noblest  and  holiest  development. 

Percy,  with  the  new  education  of  the  arts  of  peace  in  view,  saw 
Rome  as  probably  no  boy  ever  looked  upon  it  before.  Rome,  in  its 
ruin,  is  one  vast  monument  of  wars.  The  Roman  wars  were  waged, 
not  for  defence  as  a  rule,  but  for  conquest.      Rome  mowed  the  world. 

Everywhere  that  Percy  went  in  the  Roman  winter  and  spring  he 
beheld  the  reminders  of  the  human  slaughters  of  thousands  of  years. 
The  Tiber  ran  red  with  the  legends  of  battles.  The  Forum  Romanics 
was  an  echo  of  the  voice  of  war.  The  bridge  of  Horatius  Coacles,  the 
triumphal  arches  of  Septimus  Severus,  of  Titus,  of  Constantine,  the 
castle  of  St.  Angelo  and  the  field  of  Mars,  the  Coliseum,  the  Pala- 
tine, the  Forum,  and  the  column  of  Trajan,  and  the  statues  of  all  the 
emperors  except  Antoninus,  were  to  our  young  traveller's  eyes,  in  his 
new  education,  like  so  man)-  evidences  of  a  barbarous  selfishness,  when 
the  city  of  the  Tiber  sought  not  the  good  of  mankind,  but  the  gold 
of  mankind,  and  crowned  ages  of  robbery  with  the  arts  that  only  are 
merited  by  the  conquests  of  peace. 


316  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

To  him  Christianity  there  took  a  new  coloring.  The  voice  of  the 
Great  Teacher  in  Galilee  was  the  only  one  that  rose  for  peace  amid  all 
these  worthless  struggles  for  power  and  sheddings  of  human  blood. 
"  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers ! "  Percy  heard  that  voice  crying  in 
the  wilderness  of  the  world  in  the  silence  of  time,  and  felt  its  meaning 
there. 

There  arose  to  him  one  solitary  place  of  interest  amid  all  these 
monuments  of  cruelty,  injustice,  and  human  woe,  which  he  wished  to 
see.  It  was  the  Temple  of  Concord.  It  represented  an  idea,  —  the 
new  idea.  Where  was  it  ?  Only  pictures  of  it,  with  a  few  relics, 
remained. 

The  Temple  of  Concord  was  first  built  at  the  time  of  Furius  Camillus, 
in  commemoration  of  the  reconciliation  between  the  patricians  and 
plebeians.  In  this  temple  the  senate  used  to  meet.  It  fell  into  decay ; 
but  was  restored  by  Livia,  the  wife  of  Augustus.  This  latter  temple 
was  burned. 

Two  other  temples  of  concord  were  built,  but  they  disappeared. 

But  the  pictured  goddess  still  is  to  be  seen.  She  is  represented 
as  a  matron  holding  in  her  right  hand  an  olive  branch,  and  in  her  left 
a  horn  of  plenty. 

There  was  one  house  in  Rome  that  Percy  sought  with  interest.  It 
recalls  the  democratic  and  republican  revival  in  the  Middle  Ages.  It 
was  the  traditional  house  of  Rienzi,  or  Rienzo,  —  a  house  that  brings 
thoughts  of  the  Gracchi,  the  Fabricii,  the  Scipios,  Cato,  Antoninus, 
and  all  the  glorious  deeds,  or  deeds  that  were  glorious  in  the  olden 
time.  It  stands  near  the  Temple  of  Fortune,  and  is  built  out  of  the 
ruins  of  a  long  past.  It  is  called  to-day  the  house  of  Pilate,  and  has  asso- 
ciated with  it  a  legend  of  the  old  governor  of  Judea.  Here,  according  to 
another  tradition,  lived  not  only  Rienzi,  the  leader  of  the  tribune, —  the 
tribune  of  "the  orphan,  the  widow,  and  the  poor,"  —  but  Crecentius. 

Who  was  Crecentius? 

He  was  a  Roman  leader  who  became  consul  in  Rome  in  980,  and 


THE    ROM  AX  CONSUL.  317 

who  aspired  to  restore  the  empire  to  its  former  state  of  liberty  and 
glory.  He  dreamed  the  dream  afterwards  dreamed  by  Rienzi.  The 
emperor  Otho  III.  entered  Rome  with  an  army  in  99S,  and  defeated 
him,  and  put  him  to  death.  His  end  was  heroic.  Miss  Mary  Russell 
Mitford  has  grandly  described  it  in  one  of  her  noblest  poems. 

THE    ROMAN    CONSUL. 

"  We  are  now  in  the  city  of  the  early  consuls,"  said  Mr.  Van  der 
Palm.  "  The  consuls  of  to-day  hold  their  name  from  the  officers  who 
governed  the  old  Roman  republic;  and  there  is  in  the  consulates  of  all 
lands  a  resemblance  to  the  ancient  form  of  power.  The  consuls  of 
Rome  were  first  elected  after  the  expulsion  of  the  kings,  about  510  b.  c. 
The  office  existed  more  than  one  thousand  years." 

"  How  were  consuls  appointed  ?  "  asked  Percy. 

"  They  were  not  appointed  at  all  ;  they  were  elected,  as  I  said. 
They  were  really  elected  kings.  They  were  at  first  elected  only  from 
the  rank  of  the  patricians.  After  a  time  the  plebeians,  asking  for  rep- 
resentation, began  to  elect  tribunes  with  consular  power." 

"  What  did  the  consuls  do?"  asked  Percy. 

"  They  commanded  the  army,  framed  the  laws,  and  presided  over 
the  senate.  And  they  controlled  much  of  the  world  through  pro- 
consuls ;  and  it  is  from  the  pro-consuls  that  the  consular  service  of  all 
governments  to-day  descends.  The  American  consul  to-clav  is  like 
the  pro-consul  of  the  Roman  empire." 

Mr.  Van  der  Palm  further  explained  — 

"  The  Roman  consuls  were  first  termed  prtctorcs,  or  leaders  of 
armies.  The  title  of  consul  was  introduced  some  three  hundred  years 
before  the  Christian  era. 

"  The  symbol  of  the  authority  of  the  old  consuls  was  the  ivory 
sceptre,  surmounted  by  the  eagle.  When  they  went  to  their  high  seats 
as  judges,  a. bundle  of  rods  with  an  axe  in  the  centre  was  borne  before 
them  bv  twelve  lictors. 


318  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS  ON  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

"  They  were  inaugurated  by  grand  processions  ana  i  religious  festi- 
val. In  the  empire  the  office  became  merely  a  title  of  honor  conferred 
by  the  emperor. 

"  The  pro-consuls,  who  administered  affairs  in  the  provinces,  were 
commonly  chosen  from  those  who  had  been  consuls,  as  in  the  oreat 
growth  of  the  empire  especial  prudence  and  experience  were  needed 
for  this  office. 


ROHAN    GATE,    GENOA. 


"  The  office  of  mercantile  consul,  or  commercial  consul,  originated 
in  Italy  about  the  twelfth  century.  Its  purpose  was  to  protect  trade, 
vindicate  the  rights  of  commerce,  and  to  make  reports  in  the  interests 
of  the  government.  The  office  thus  created  in  Italy,  on  the  model  of 
the  pro-consul  of  the  days  of  the  times  of  the  republic,  was  adopted  to 
carry  on  the  commercial  relations  of  most  European  countries. 

"  The  duties  of  the  foreign  consuls  are  assigned  to  them  in  printed 
instructions.  The  consul  exhibits  his  commission  to  the  state  to 
which  he  is  assigned,  and  receives  a  document  from  that  state  called 
an  exequahir,  which  endorses  the  commission. 

"  The  European  consul  is  expected  to  know  the  laws  and  language 


GENOA. 


319 


PILO    GATE,    GENOA. 


of  the  country  to  which  he  is  assigned,  and  to  protect  the    rights  of 
his  countrymen   there. 

"  A  great  service  of  the 
British  consular  office  has 
been  to  protect  the  rights  of 
seamen. 

"  There  is  a  curious  fic- 
tion about  these  consulates, 
which  follows  the  old  pro- 
consular idea.  It  is,  the  con- 
sulate is  a  part  of  the  coun- 
try from  which  the  consul  is 
sent.  America  followed  the 
idea.  I  could  never  be  out 
of  America  when  in  my  own 
consulate.  Hence  I  can  ex- 
ecute deeds,  and  even  per- 
form the  marriage  ceremony  among  my  own  people.  An  Englishman 
is  not  supposed  to  be  out  of  England  or  her  provinces  whenever  he  is 
in  any  consulate  under  his  own   flag." 

"  And  so,"  said  Blanche, 
the  consul's  daughter,  who  un- 
dertook to  explain  to  Percy  the 
meaning  of  "  Sordello,"  "and 
so  the  consulate  is  a  kind  of 
myth  or  fairy  tale.  It  has  a 
touch  of  the  poetic  about  it. 
I  always  love  to  see  the  flag 
of  a  consulate  in  any  port. 
It  recalls  to  me  the  old  homes 
of  the  country  for  which  it 
floats ;  and  so  it  seems  that 
there  is  always,  and  for  every 
man,  be  he  a  merchant  or  a  wayfarer,  a  hospitable  welcome  at  the 
consulate." 


SOUTH    BASTION,    GENOA. 


320  ZIGZAG   JOURNEYS   ON   THE   MEDITERRANEAN. 

Percy  visited  Genoa,  the  birthplace  of  Columbus,  of  which  city 
we  have  spoken  in  other  volumes.  He  was  somewhat  surprised  to 
find  there  several  birthplaces  of  the  ocean  hero. 

"  Thirteen  towns  contend  for  Homer  dead, 
In  which  the  living  Homer  begged  his  bread." 

Our  travellers  returned  to  New  York,  and  arrived  off  the  Nevasink 
Highlands  on  the  first  day  of  the  great  naval  parade,  on  the  25th  of 
April,  1S93.  There  was  spread  over  the  front  of  the  great  gray 
fortress,  as  they  were  passing,  a  flag  with  a  white  border.  Above  it, 
the  representatives  of  a  patriotic  organization,  called  the  Lyceum 
League  of  America,  were  raising  a  banner  to  welcome  the  world. 

The  ceremonies  were  most  impressive,  following  as  they  did  the 
incident  of  the  throwing  of  the  white-bordered  flag  over  the  statue  of 
the  Gladiator  in  the  Roman  hall.  They  gave  to  our  consular 
traveller  and  his  son  inspiring  views  of  the  mission  of  America. 


oo 


'^*tff**- 


::::, .  diiiil 


*4t* 


j&>  ■  ■  i- 


l,    |  W  i 


> 


-7- 


4  M^J«U, 


